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Author's Note:

Hey lovelies! I'm back with a long update after quite a while. I can only apologize for the delay, University is just getting more annoying day by day. Also, I'm watching My Demon, so decided to add one of it's OST, you all can listen to it while reading the lead scenes.

Anyways, enjoy this one and happy reading my loves!

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The walls of the palace feel warmer than earlier, the hallways more comforting as the palace staff stand in neat lines to catch a glimpse of their soon to be queen, huge smiles displayed on their welcoming faces. Viri smiles back, wholeheartedly, stops to bow deeply to appreciate their appearance just to see her. The surprised gasps from the staff doesn't go unnoticed by her.

It has been half an hour since they arrived at the palace. Jimin had met them at the entrance, eyes gleaming with joy as he had welcomed them back before leading them down the hallway, claiming that the staff wanted to see their soon to be queen. The princess would be lying if she says she wasn't expecting the emperor to receive them along with the others and when she didn't catch any sight of him, she was definitely not disappointed. Not even in the slightest.

After the warm welcome from the staff, Jimin takes lead to give a detailed tour of the palace to Viri, placing the crown back into the crown room on their way, with the intention to bring it out for the coronation ceremony only. It is only Viri following the Royal advisor around, Yoongi and Hyunjay having abandoned them long back to take some rest. Jimin keeps chattering about all the places he shows to Viri as the princess listens intently, genuinely interested in collecting every information the older is throwing her way.

An hour later, they find themselves in the king's garden, the previous memories of that night comes flooding back as they step into the now reconstructed area. It had been severely damaged after the fight and had to be rebuild, Jimin explains to her and Viri finds herself with a sense of relief that no permanent damage had happened to the place.

She loves the serenity the garden offers and knows the king loves it too, so it's good to know the place is revived. While Jimin further explains about the reconstruction, Viri finds herself acting on impulse.

"Sorry to interrupt you Jimin-ssi but where exactly is the emperor?"
She immediately regrets her impulsive question because one it came out more rude than she intended it to be and two, now there was absolute silence between the pair. Jimin turns around slowly, eyes searching for Viraina's own before letting out a snicker. Before he can say something the girl rushes to explain,
"I mean I just- I was just wondering where the emperor might be since I didn't catch a sight of him-"

"I understand, my princess. In fact it's irresponsible of me to not inform you earlier but his majesty had some urgent work come up right before you arrived and had to leave for that. He will be back soon and has asked me to request you to wait for him here, if you would want to?"

Viri is a bit slow in processing his words but replies nevertheless.
"Yes. I would want to. I will wait here, please inform him the same when he arrives"

"Sure thing, princess"

☆☆☆☆☆

"But I thought she ran away and didn't want to be the queen?"

"That's exactly what happened, your majesty"

"Then why do I suddenly hear the news of her being back in the palace?"

Silence. The soft, honeyed amber hues of the evening sky gradually start turning into unwelcoming darkness and Yeol finds himself in trouble yet again. All because of this new and prospective supporter of their enemy.

"I- Your majesty, as far as I know, that girl never wanted to be the queen. I don't know why she is ba-"

"You don't know? You really don't know huh? Who in the entirety of Hell would decline to be the queen of this majestic realm? No one. She saw the opportunity and she grabbed it. Not because it came to her, but because you let her. Your foolishness is the only reason why she is going to be the queen of Hell. A strong one at that.
Now give me one single reason why I shouldn't bury you right where you stand, right at this moment!?"

The fear stricken demon's knees hit the ground almost instantly, head bowed down as he refuses to meet the eyes of his chastiser. He knew the moment he raised his head his chances of being awarded an instant death increased by ten fold. So he did what he does the best, keeps himself bowed in a deep apology, just as he has been doing lately, ever since the queen showed up.

Up until now he only had one target, within a course of few weeks however the number has increased to two and he hated that. Not only him, the demon currently rage walking away from him, hated it as well. Yeol waited until the other was out of sight before rising from his position on the ground, hissing from the pain in his knees and also from the annoyance burning within him.

The demon looks out into the dark sky, pondering over his plans on how to make everything turn in his favour. He can't let them become so powerful that it becomes difficult to cause their downfall. The queen has entered at a bad time.

Now either she has to be on his side, or pay for existing in the first place. And just like that, a sinister smirk makes its way on Yeol's face. He has a plan. He will make sure it works.

☆☆☆☆☆

Duty calls. And when duty calls the king, he has to answer. Taehyung isn't very happy to leave the palace so abruptly on a day as important as this, but his responsibilities always come first so here he is, sitting in the office of king Megedagik of Eshran. It's a considerable large space for a office but then King Mege has always been a man of show, who has loved to show off his wealth for as long as Taehyung can remember.

He had met him when he was a young child, always sticking with his father, observing with his sharp eyes, all the demons his father met with and all the ways they spoke to him. Young Taehyung was his father's shadow but only on business trips the then king used to make to other kingdoms of Hell in lieu of strengthening their relationships.

So here's the thing, Taehyung and his family wasn't a normal loving family like most of the other demon kids grew up in. In fact they were a mix of loving, non-loving and barely tolerating each other kind of relationships put together to be called as family. There were only four members in this royal family, Taehyung, his little brother Jinho, their father, King Chin Hae and their mother, Queen Dan-Bi.

When Taehyung was at a stage of crawling across the wide hallways of the palace, his father would be the one running through the same hallways from the opposite side to grab hold of his son and to lightly scold him for giving him a scare by roaming around all alone. Baby Taehyung would giggle at his father and make grabby hands as soon as he spotted his mother coming towards them. (This changed with time, as baby Taehyung soon started walking across the hallways but no one would be there to get him)

When Jinho was born, a young Taehyung would sneak out of his room at night to get to his little brother's room and just stare at him all night. His parents would find him like that, sleeping peacefully beside his brother's cot, only to be carried back to his own room by his father. Taehyung's sleep would sometimes be disturbed due to the various voices reaching his ears on the way to his room but he would quickly be calmed down with the softest of kisses to his forehead as he would fall into a deep sleep almost immediately. (This changed with time, as baby Jinho grew up enough to start sharing his elder brother's room before getting his own space later on)

When the brothers were old enough to start attending the royal courts and proceedings, to understand the laws of Hell, a case of theft had come up. There was a couple who stole a considerably large sum of money from a rich merchant and were caught trying to escape with it. The couple had argued that they did it for their son as they couldn't even feed him properly even with both of them doing some kind of odd jobs. They were executed. Leaving behind their son, who was only around Jinho's age, maybe even younger and Taehyung had promptly burst into tears. He had questioned his father's decision in front of the whole court as all demons held their breaths, waiting for their King's answer.

His father had been unfazed or so he had shown, had calmly replied to Taehyung's arguments,
"The decision was made in accordance to the laws of Hell, prince Taehyung. I am sure you must be familiar with them. Theft is a grave offence and the punishment can only be reduced if the offender showed remorse for his actions, which those two did not. Hence the decision"

"They did it for their child! How can you kill off both his parents? What will become of that child now?"

"He will be taken care of by his other family. He is not a child and can very well find a job in the market if he wanted to. Anyways the State will provide him money for his sustenance from the Royal treasury, you need not worry about him"

"Money is not equivalent to a parent's love! He needs his parents and he doesn't have them anymore"

"Again, the decision was in accordance to the laws of Hell, prince. Now if you could let the court proceed further that would be much appreciated"

"But-"

"Enough!"

"Father-"

"Kim Taehyung. You do not get your emotions mixed with the court's subjects, that is a basic rule which you have violated. You must leave right away"

And Taehyung was promptly led out of the court to go wait in his father's office. He knew he was in trouble when in came the fuming king of Hell with no trace of his father. The furious demon had yelled at him for being overly emotional in the official court but Taehyung had politely refused to back down from his opinion. The king had then asked Jinho if he shared Taehyung's opinion and the younger had refused the same, making it clear that he knew whatever was done was the correct thing to do.

Taehyung had been in utter disbelief, was begining to feel cornered when in came the Queen of Hell, only, her aura was calm like the sweet rain after a long drought, just like her name, Dan Bi. She had placed a soothing hand on her older son's head while standing firm and strong against her husband.
The couple had a heated argument after that which lasted all night, but when it was finally over, when they finally retired to their rooms, when sleep finally came to the older prince he was engulfed in his mother's embrace. But this time, he had lost his father and the King's trust in him. This time, the Queen had lost her younger son and his trust in her mother. (This only grew with time, Jinho going onto become the father's favourite and Taehyung naturally becoming the mother's favourite)

As years passed by, there was no competition in who was closer to their father without the official trips in the way. Every single demon was aware that while Taehyung might be his shadow for work purposes, Jinho was the exact mirror image of King Chin Hae in as many ways as possible. So much so that their father trusted Jinho with the official work more than his elder son. (This didn't change with time)

Both Jinho and Taehyung have had their share of official trips around Hell in their father's company, some kingdoms taking a liking for young Taehyung, some for Jinho and as a result their was a mixed reaction from the masses of Hell upon Taehyung's coronation.

King Mege, however, took liking in neither of the two brothers. He only had a friendship with the previous king and Taehyung is not surprised. Both the older demons always came to mutual conclusions to their meetings, never once did any of those meetings end in a dispute and that is the cause of Taehyung's urgent visit to the kingdom.

Now while waiting for the older demon to show up, the young ruler goes through all the issues he wants to cover in their meeting and return as soon as possibly, definitely not because of a certain someone. He is just tired that's all.

"Well, well, well. What has the kingdom of Eshran done to be bestowed upon the presence of his majesty himself?" says a rusty voice from behind the seated demon.

Taehyung rises and greets the king with a deep bow who doesn't bother to do the same. Interesting. That's a sign being given out loud, his presence is not all that welcomed in the kingdom. The emperor definitely understands why but he doesn't approve of the behavior, all the more reason to address the issue without further ado.

"King Mege, I am sure you know why I have decided to visit at a short notice. If not, I will gladly make you aware about the same. This is about the villages at the shared border of the capital and your kingdom. I have received information that those villages are being tormented by your kingdo-"

"Tormented? You mean to say we are abusing those villages by merely regulating their trading activities, which we have been doing for years now?"

"Yes. I meant exactly that King Mege. Those trading activities are not being regulated but being forced on the commoners and I am not going to just sit back and let it happen to my demons. The years of regulations you are talking about was allowed by the late king and may I humbly remind you, I never really sided with his ways. Your agreements with him no longer stand valid and now that I have taken over, I expect you to follow through with my orders"

"How dare you question my ways? I have been ruling this kingdom of Eshran longer than your entire life and you are standing here, opposing my rule?"

The emperor of Hell let's his head fall in a exaggerated sigh, clearly tired of the conversation and regretting coming to this kingdom but he had no other option. All the times the Royal court had sent for King Mege, he had declined to be present in the capital instead inviting Taehyung to his own domain. So here he was, bearing no fruits for the patience he has been keeping for the older king only to be disappointed once again. He needs to mend this right here though, to avoid future disobedience at the least.

The emperor rises from his seat, standing tall and pins the older demon under his hard glare, he is going to set things right now and he won't stop until he has what he wants.

"King Mege. I have been ignoring your filthy little acts of insult thrown my way for months now. You think it's wise to provoke your emperor? Or are you that confident that no harm can come to you or your kingdom? May I remind you, I am not my father. I don't know why and how did you both come to the conclusions of making those poor demon's lives so miserable but I am here now. I will free them from all your abuse and I shall get your support for the same. Be it willingly or unwillingly. The choice is yours. I am giving you a single minute to make a decision. Hurry, because this time I won't wait"

"Are you threatening me now Kim Taeh-"

"Hush. Don't speak words you will regret later my king. I will not accept any further disrespect and one wrong move on your part, you shall see your end on this fateful day!"

That shuts the older one up. Taehyung stands firm and watches how the colour drains from the other's face but how he still tries to put on a brave front. The emperor watches as a handful of guards are called in to attack him then. He watches when the guards lay dead on the ground soon after, blood dripping down from the emperor's sword, adding to the beauty of it's ruby red blade like some sort of a bright strawberry glaze. Taehyung watches as king Mege fumes with anger but still gets on his knees to bow to his emperor in order to not instigate him further.

"My apologies your highness. I-I didn't mean to disrespect you, I apologize for all my acts and am begging for your forgiveness. Please forgive your majesty-"

"Stop with your rambling Mege. I forgive you. But you have lost all your respect in my eyes and are barely keeping yourself from truly making me angry, I would have had your head if I really was offended. Anyways, I am in a hurry at this day, but I expect nothing less than strict obedience of my order to leave those villages alone, they now come under the protection of the capital and if I see your kingdom messing with them even one more time, I shall have you executed right in the middle of the capital. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty"

Th emperor turns around without sparing a glance to the still bowing demon and walks out of the door in a hurry. He has to get to the palace as soon as possible.
He totally misses the vengeful glare set on his back by the king of Eshran.

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Viraina doesn't know how long has she been waiting here for the king to come back from his work, but now that she is here, might as well wait a bit longer. Jimin had checked on her twice already, promising to come back to inform her if the king arrives and so for now she is on her own, mesmerized with the beauty of the dark night as she sways softly with the calm breeze.

She is staring at the shining stars when it happens. One moment she is fairly awake, waiting for the emperor's return and the next moment she feels her eyes drooping as if she has been fighting sleep for long. The princess can barely figure out what is happening to her as she tries to fight it, only for her to realize that her entire body is in some sort of paralysis and there is no longer a way to escape.

She tries to hold off for as long as she can, feels the sweat drip down her temple, feels the loudness of her blood pulsing inside her veins, feels the way a glaring pain emerges in her forehead and realizes she is stuck. Finding no other way out, Viraina let's her eyes drop shut as her world wraps itself in a blanket of unwelcomed darkness.

☆☆☆☆☆

Jimin is positively panicking now. It's only been half an hour since the healers declared that there is nothing wrong with the unconscious princess, ten minutes since Yoongi had cursed them out and only a minute before the emperor reaches the scene too.

All was going well. Jimin had gotten the news of Taehyung's arrival soon enough, had decided he would go and inform the princess about the same before coming back to receive the king. He couldn't follow through with his plan fully because as soon as he stepped in to the garden, he had shrieked. For the princess of Augosuga was laying unconscious and that was the last thing which should have happened.

Currently, the healers have announced nothing wrong with the princess, but she is still not awake so the Royal advisor is very close to ripping his own hair off of his head. He is just standing and watching Yoongi trying to figure out what's wrong with his sister but he ain't doing a good job so far, the princess continues to be unconscious.

But hope reappears as soon as the emperor walks in, his face alert, eyebrows furrowed and posture open, ready to assist in anyway he can. The king throws a glance towards the unconscious princess, at Yoongi and then at the room, before turning to Jimin.

"Where are the healers?"

"They were thrown out by Yoongi hyung. They said there is nothing wrong with the princess"

"But- How did they not detect anything?"

"No idea, I can't figure that out myself"

"Well we don't have a choice. She arrived just today and now this happens. Did someone attack her?"

"No injuries found so far, the healers confirmed no internal injury too as she is not exhibiting any symptoms. She is calm, almost too calm for our liking"

"Calm? What does that mea- wait"

Taehyung promptly walks towards the bed, sits beside the unconscious princess and softly, almost hesitantly places his hand on her forehead. He then closes his eyes and a suffocating silence falls upon the entirety of the room.

When he opens his eyes, they are red and focused. They are determined. Yoongi heaves a sigh of small relief, comfortable with the younger's determination to help Viraina and Jimin sucks in a sharp breath, patiently waiting for the King's orders.

"I need Hobi hyung here as soon as possible. I think I found the problem. The princess has somehow entered the Realm of Dreams"

☆☆☆☆☆

"But how is this possible? Only trained beings can enter the Realm of Dreams, what is Viri doing there?" Hoseok asks, mildly annoyed with the sudden relevation by Taehyung. He is incapable of understanding this sudden incident, his magic simmering under his skin trying to find any sign of an evil spell anywhere near the unconscious princess.

"Trained beings will enter the realm of Dreams on their own accord, hyung. This does seem involuntary. Do you read any negative energy?"

"I do actually. It's actually right there in a very small amount as if a covering spell was put over it so as to hide it away. I will need atleast an hour to get a hold of it and extract it completely from her aura"

"We don't have time though. Viri doesn't know she is in the Dream realm, she might get in grave danger" Yoongi states as a matter of fact, voice weirdly calm.

"I agree. We need to do something to keep her safe until Hobi hyung is done with the extraction of the negative energy" Jimin pitched in, determination flowing through his veins, already protective of his future queen.

Everyone nods in agreement, thinking of ways to actually follow through with the plan. It's already known that it's not enough to keep her physically safe, the main battle being the subconscious state which the princess is in. That is why the emperor takes a decision.

"I will go in to find her so I can bring her back safe and sound"

"I do not think that's very wise to do Taeh-"

"I actually think it's a great plan. We can follow through with it" Hoseok gives his consent, eyeing Jimin with his assurance filled gaze.

"But it's not safe for the emperor hyung! Its been years since he last went into that realm voluntarily, everything could go wrong"

"I agree with Jimin. We could wait it out maybe, but Taehyung doesn't need to go in, if there is an evil spell then it's an even bigger reason for him to not go in. We can't in anyway ever put the emperor's life in danger no matter the circumstances" Namjoon pitches in, having entered the room with Hoseok and only speaking now after listening the other's opinions.

Hoseok pauses momentarily as if to contemplate on Namjoon's words, but Taehyung is having none of it.

"With all respect Namjoon hyung, the emperor's life is as important as the Queen's. I don't think any of you has realized yet that this is our queen, Hell needs her and it is our duty to protect her from harm. Would you rather wait it out knowing she will get in danger?" The emperor hisses out, his voice reflecting his simmering anger.

Namjoon stays quiet, silently agreeing with the emperor's point, he is on his way to make an apology but is cut off by a new voice. He immediately knows who it is.

"What are you waiting for then, your majesty? Go ahead do what you think is right. Don't keep our future queen waiting" Says the new voice, belonging to Kim Seokjin, his eyes squinted in a challenge as looks at the king.

One look at him and Taehyung sighs internally. He is not ready to deal with this right now, doesn't have time to find the hidden meaning behind the elder's words. His relationship with Seokjin has been weird to say the least. He is a demon who has been widely respected since centuries in Hell, not many lucky enough to even catch a glimpse of the respected demon. For a very long time the demons of Hell have thought of him to be a representative form of Satan himself, his wisdom and powers going above and beyond every other demon.
He doesn't age or so it seems. He was there when Taehyung's father ascended on the throne, but never remained constant which is one of the many reasons why he is so deeply respected in Hell. The less you know about a someone, the more dangerous he seems to be. That aside, Taehyung never understood him.
He was there when his father passed away, was there when Taehyung was revealed to be the true successor of the throne, was there during Taehyung's coronation, was also there on the fateful night when they discovered Min Viraina as the true queen. Now he is here when she is in danger, but that's not what's bothering the ruler. The whole point of this weird energy between the two is because Sir Jin never talks directly, he is always throwing puzzles at him, at a time Taehyung very much would not like to solve any. The current situation is one of those times. He is deeply angered as well as worried for the unconscious princess, is trying to make a bold move to get in the realm of dreams to save her and now Jin has made an appearance. But he won't back down, if he needs to fight all in the room to atleast try and save the princess, he will do so. But he won't sit idle, letting her tackle the dangers alone when he promised her she won't be alone in this journey ever.
So the ruler let's out a tired sigh, adjusts his position beside the princess and looks up at that Seokjin, his eyes fixed intently on the older.
"Yes sir. I will have to do exactly that, can't let the future queen in danger now can we?"

"And who exactly told you she needs your help?"

Silence engulfs the room, Jimin sucking in a sharp breath at the blunt disrespect of the emperor, while Yoongi keeps his eyes locked on the now silent Taehyung, assessing him secretly. The ruler is quite for a good few minutes before leaving his position from beside the sleeping princess to stand directly in front of Jin. He eyes the older with a hint of irritation and answers in a clipped voice,
"I don't think I need anyone's permission in a situation like this Sir Jin. It is entirely my discretion to make a decision in order to help our princess, it doesn't matter if she needs my help Or not. The only thing that matters is her being in a place which she isn't accustomed to and that too involuntarily, those are the only facts I need to know to go in there and help her out. In the end even if she doesn't need my help, I had be happy to just escort her back. For now, all I know is I am going into the realm of Dreams to help our future queen, no questions asked"
The emperor only waits for a minute or so to look for a reaction in Jin's face, when he doesn't get any, he decides to end the conversation right there and get to business.

"Jimin, I am going there now. I want you all to stay right here and be ready with the royal doctors, we might need them. Hoseok hyung, please form a protective barrier around this room, if any negative energy escapes we need to lock it in. Others, make sure to hold our bodies down if we start thrashing around, the last thing we want is any kind of physical injury. Is everyone clear?"

All of them nodded to the King's orders, getting ready to follow through as Taehyung took a seat beside the princess. He stared at her sleeping face, hoping she wasn't in danger already as he reaches out to grasp her hand in his, to let himself be guided into the same dream as hers.
As the emperor slowly closes his eyes, he hears a small, "Be careful, Taehyung ah" from Yoongi before the world goes dark.

☆☆☆☆☆

So Viri knows herself to be a demon who can adjust easily to new environments, who doesn't get scared easily and who knows very well how to protect herself. But like there is a limit to everything and the current situation is testing all those limits. The princess is starting to get truly pissed off now that she has been wondering in the same place for the nth time for who knows how long already, the only thing she knows is she is in some kind of a maze, which is endless and certainly mad at Viri for some reason.

She has tried every door she can but no way out till now. It doesn't happen everyday that you remember yourself losing consciousness to suddenly waking up in a place you don't even know to be real. It should freak her out. Really. But only if she wasn't Min Viraina. Freaking out is just not in the Min line. So after what she thinks is hours of trying out new ways and ending up in the same place, Viri decides to give up and just lay down in a corner, waiting for something to happen. Anything. The day, however, is just not in her favour because nothing happens, if only when she pays attention, she notices the place to be smaller than what she saw in the beginning.

The doors are still there but the room is suddenly shrinking and Viri is forced to get up to observe her surroundings quickly. There has to be a way out, maybe she just can't see it, so she tries to feel it but to no avail. She tries random doors, even if the room shrinking process speeds up, the princess keeps her calm when she notices the noises. The noises coming from behind the closed doors. She doesn't take long to identify them as a hint for her escape, the only problem being they are extremely intermixed, making it impossible to figure out which noise originates from where.
It's slowly becoming overwhelming, but Viri knows better than to start panicking, she takes a deep breath and tries to come up with a strategy to get out of this adverse situation. She waits patiently for her mind to calm down but as the walls start closing in on her, she stumbles slightly causing her to half fall on the nearest door for support.

Time stops, as the princess hears something she least expected to hear from the other side of the door. It's her brother's voice, it's Yoongi saying something about going to the main palace, it's Yoongi speaking loud and clear until it's not only him. The princess feels the panic seeping in once she realizes who exactly is Yoongi conversing with, she jolts back from the door as soon as her own voice creep into her ears, memories flooding back of the night her brother informed her about going to the main palace while also reprimanding her for recklessly killing off some disrespectful demons.
Viraina remembers that night vividly, remembers what all was said and starts positively panicking while also trying to break through her confusion filled haze, she has no idea what in the world was going on in this place, what exactly was going on behind this door and why was she hearing her brother's voice as well as her own. She certainly did not hope for the situation to get worse but it does get to that point, in a few minutes, every single door in the crowd of hundreds start speaking a language of their own. Every single one of them playing some kind of events of Viri's own life, from her own memories she figures out and it's not only just sound.

The moment she opens one of them, she sees her own memory playing out, this one is of the day she came to the King's palace, her exploring through the lavish hallways before meeting Jungkook. (Her heart doesn't do the same enthusiastic tingle as it did upon seeing him the first time. This she fails to note.)
She rechecks with opening many other doors only to be met with the scenes she knows to have happened, but eerily enough are replaying again as if extracted from her own memory, which does make sense because she is not physically present in any of the scenes, it's her voice travelling between the walls, the scene playing out is exactly as she saw through her own two eyes.

Eventually, the princess gives up on opening any more of these weird doors, takes a moment to sit down and shut all the noise out. She knows she needs to figure where exactly has she landed, how to get out of this place on her own because there is no way someone can come in here to help her. Right? ( Not right but she doesn't know it yet)

She quietly meditates on her next plan of action, until she hears the shrill, unmistakable cries of a baby. When her eyes snap open, she sees the entirety of the endless hallways changing, only to dissapear and give way to a single door. Now, Viraina knows creepy vibes when she sees it. The other doors uptil now which disappeared into thin air were white, a serene calm white but this one in front of her, is black, evil and unforgiving. She shouldn't open it but the baby's cries are louder up close, its right behind it, there is a baby, why and how doesn't really matter as the princess reaches forward to throw the door open only to stop midway.

Isn't this place made out of her own memories? She has established this fact just a few minutes ago, which means this door should be depicting something from her memory too. But why a baby and when did she so distinctly encountered a baby in her life? Unless, the baby was herself. Pure horror ran through her being, the princess struggling to maintain her balance and avoid a nasty fall, all along trying to understand what is this entire thing about.

The baby's cries are incessantly banging against her head and Viri has been aware of her childhood story for a long time now, she knows how it goes had courageously asked her brother to recite the entire thing to her once she was old enough and maybe that's why she finds herself throwing the door open, to enter, to stop those bastards, to do something to protect herself, all rational thoughts going out the window, only to realize how badly she has messed up.

First thing, Viraina notices is the forest clearing which is vaguely unsettling. Not the clearing but the ones occupying it at the moment. The two demons, she notices next, are busy preparing a fire while trying to tie a baby over the said fire. Viri's brain shortcuits as she blanks out, trying to process what she is witnessing. There is a baby, which happens to be her, two demons are trying to kill her, maybe eat her later and this is clearly the same incident due to which she was called the forest princess in Augosuga for the longest time. (Now the masses address her as our queen after the latest revelations)

Considering she is in a place which seems determined to replay every single memory of hers, the one she is viewing right now doesn't make sense at all. Going by the earlier doors she explored, the princess should not be able to see herself at all. Voices are there but the fact that she is seeing everything from her own eyes, her baby form being physically present doesn't make sense. She is still busy in figuring this out when she sees her brother, albeit younger, stepping forward, demanding the demons who are much larger than him to leave the baby alone.

The scene plays out exactly as her brother had told her, she knows what happens next but also can't seem to process anything rationally. She watches on as her brother is attacked and this part was something she didn't know about. Didn't know how long Yoongi had to fight in order to take the demons down, or how many injuries he had subsequently, the older had foregone the details and so Viri finds herself itching to jump into the fight herself. The minute detail of whether to protect herself or her brother doesn't matter.

She doesn't know why, but she steps forward anyways. She doesn't know why, but she draws her sword out anyways. She doesn't know why, but she creeps towards herself or the crying baby, itching to provide comfort, to end this nightmare. She is just a few steps short of actually stepping out into the clearing where all could see, if she would be even visible to them to begin with when she hears a loud noise. Something like a door bursting open and colliding with the wall and before she can process anything, a hand grabs her arm effectively dragging her out of the forest (or the room? She really can't tell the difference now)

☆☆☆☆☆

The first thing Viri registers upon getting a hold of her surroundings are the white hallways in which she originally saw the doors. She is no longer in the forest, a point to note. But a bigger point to note is that she is also no longer alone. The princess first feels the warm hands on both her shoulders, grounding her enough to catch her breathe. Then she seems the chest of someone who supposedly owns those hands. As she looks up straight into a pair of golden brown eyes, looking right back at her with clear intent.

Viri surely recognizes those eyes but too much thinking in the past few hours has her brain shutting down as she let's herself get lost in those serene eyes, drawing comfort after the emotionally draining experience she just had. She barely registers a deep yet mellifluous voice ringing in her ears, it is the owner of those orbs she is drowning in, she realizes and forces herself to listen carefully.

"Are you alright? Princess Viraina? Can you hear me? Hey- Can you please talk to me?" The voice says, like a warm gush of wind on a snowy day. (Doesn't matter, if she just wants to bury herself in it)

One of the warm hands move from her shoulder and thats exactly when she snaps out her daze. It's Kim Taehyung. It's the emperor himself. What is the emperor doing here-

"How?" She asks, a little bit confused but a lot grateful.

"I- Just came in after you. I hope I'm not too late though. Could you please answer me princess? Are you alright?"

"I am- Yes, I am alright now. You came just in time, I was not thinking rationally"

"I'm glad you are okay, was really worried when I couldn't find you in here at first"

"You came in here.. for me?"

The emperor chuckles deeply, giving his hand for Viri to hold onto as they both stand up slowly, the princess still feeling a bit light in the head.

"Of course my princess, I came in here for you. You shouldn't have been here in the first place and I will make sure it doesn't happen again. Should we get out of here then?"

"Yes please"

"Alright, hold on tight"

The princess grips the emperor's hands tightly and resumes to stare into those magnetic eyes before everything goes black again.

☆☆☆☆☆

When the world becomes clear enough for awareness to sink in, Viri registers familiar faces looking at her, concern lining all of their faces. She scans their faces, when she spots her brother, looking ready to murder someone(but when is he not?), staring at her as he waits for her to speak.

"Hyung.." She whispers, voice small and timid.

Yoongi steps forwards to settle down beside her, helps her into a sitting position cautiously before attacking her with millions of questions.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling bub? What happened? Did someone attack you-"

"I am okay now-"

"If someone did attack you I will make sure to cut them into pieces and-"

"Yoongi hyung, she said she is okay. Why not let her rest for a while before having this discussion?" Hoseok's gentle voice cuts through the elder's ramble as he gives a kind smile to the tired princess.

"I agree, Viri-ssi please let us know once you have rested, we would like to talk to you about everything in detail" Namjoon adds as a matter of factly.

Viri nods in agreement and watches as they all shuffle out of the room one by one. The last one to start leaving is the emperor, having made himself a bit invisible as the others were fretting over Viri. He is in the midst of walking out when the princess calls him out.

"Pyeha!" She says hurriedly, in order to make him stop before he leaves the room. As Taehyung stops in his tracks and turns around to give her his full attention, she continues.

"I would like to thank you for saving me today. I wasn't exactly in trouble when you came in, but it wasn't long before I would have done something absolutely dangerous. My rationality stopped working at some point and I am highly grateful for you getting me out of there in time. Thank you so much"

She finishes her rambling to a deep bow (as deep as she could manage while sitting) towards the King's direction before finally looking up to display her gratitude through her eyes.

She wasn't exactly ready for the kind expression on the emperor's face. He is standing tall, an elegant stance with his posture making him seem taller than he is, for some it would be intimidating. But Viri looks past that strong stance and takes in his expression. It's serene, it's calm, it's grateful too. Grateful for being able to help her in time.

His calm aura radiates off his being, transferring to the princess as she relaxes her alert pose to give him a small thankful smile while the other takes a few steps towards the bed.
As he comes to a stop at a small distance from the bed, Viri gets the opportunity to stare into those majestic eyes yet again as they stare back into her warm blue ones. Taehyung takes in the princess once he is close enough, stares into her blue eyes while silently conveying his own gratitude to her for keeping safe until he arrived to guide her out of that cursed place, he feels the urge to say something out loud too and gives into the urge all too soon.

"That was just me living upto the promise, my princess. No need to thank me"

"Promise?"

"Yeah. The one I made to you. Of you never having to be alone on this journey which you have so gracefully accepted as yours"

Realisation dawns upon the princess as she remembers the promise the emperor had made to her in his letter. The same letter which helped her to make a decision. Which she is now beginning to realize, might have been the right decision after all.

☆☆☆☆☆

As soon as Taehyung steps outside the room, his gentle smile adorned face is wiped out, giving way to the neutral look. Golden brown eyes bleed into crimson red as the demon king clenches his fist. He needs to find out who did this to the princess. He needs to find out now.

While the emperor walks away in his fury, the princess relives what all happened that day. She revisits everything and draws a conclusion. It was deliberate. She was not there voluntarily, someone wanted her to be there. Wanted her to be there to receive a message. A message that should have scared her. She is anything but scared though.
If anything the princess feels a smirk make way to her face, if someone wants her scared, she wants that someone to be absolutely frightened. She will make sure that happens.

☆☆☆☆☆