"Jiminie?"

Taehyung looked up at his bestfriend while the two princes were cuddled up together beside their fire.

Jimin hummed, his eyes focused on the dancing flames in front of them.

"Tell me honestly... how much faith do you have in the demigod?"

When Jimin did not answer right away, Taehyung wrapped his arms a little tighter around his friend.

"You know that I will follow you anywhere Jiminie... But in order to help you, I must understand why you have abandoned your life and your brother for this... this stranger. Do you truly believe he is the answer to what is happening? That he can somehow end this darkness?"

Jimin bit his lips and furrowed his brows. "I suppose... he does seem rather lacking... doesn't he?"

"Well he is just a boy," Taehyung mumbled. "A very powerful boy who could potentially kill us all with the snap of his fingers... but he has been living a decently uneventful life up until this point. We can't simply expect him to care about a kingdom that hates him."

The fire crackled and the wind made bright sparks fly up boldly into the black sky.

"You are right," Jimin sighed, the light making everything around them glow red, orange and gold. "But my vision was clear, Tae. You should have seen what I saw. A barren battlefield where grass did not grow. Bodies everywhere... soldiers drenched in their own blood, crying out to the gods for mercy. They were fighting their own shadows somehow, but they couldn't land a single blow. You were there too Taeyungie, and Yoongi as well, but even you guys were powerless against those... those demons..."

"Jimin..."

Taehyung nuzzled his face against his friend's chest.

"But then..." the prince continued, his eyes losing focus as flashes of his vision came back to him. "Among all the chaos and agony, the demigod was suddenly just... there. He came down from the sky with a beam of light, and he fought with all the strength of a true diety. He shone like the sun and his eyes were pure gold, Tae. With every hit he threw, a hundred shadows perished, and the black heavens broke open to reveal a cloudless, azure sky."

Jimin stared at the fire as though he could see it all playing out inside the flames.

"I have faith in him Taehyungie... he doesn't seem very powerful yet but he has time to grow, doesn't he?"

Taehyung sighed deeply. "I pray you are right Jiminie... I trust you, and I do believe the kid has his heart in the right place."

Jimin pecked Taehyung's head and contently closed his eyes.

"Though, it isn't his heart I caught you staring at earlier..."

The prince's eyes shot right back open.

"He is cute, isn't he? Don't those muscles of him make your mouth water? Like those of the Olympic athletes?"

Jimin's face flushed. "I mean... I- I suppose..."

Taehyung wrapped his leg securely around Jimin's hips.

"I believe Yoongi grew rather jealous when the demigod carried me..."

A mischievious grin grew along Taehyung's lips. "Do you think he could've been jealous Jiminie? Just a tiny bit maybe? I mean, I know he's never cared about any of the men I've been with before, but..."

Taehyung gulped. "N-not that I've ever tried to make him jealous or anything like that..."

Jimin combed his fingers through his friend's firey red locks.

"Yoongi would be a fool if he wasn't jealous, Tae. And we both know he is everything but that."

Taehyunt chuckled and wiggled his body, tightening his hold around Jimin like a Python snake.

"Alright, alright, now let's sleep," Jimin giggled, trying his best to breathe inside Taehyung's strong hug. "We have a long day ahead of us..."

The prince sighed as he looked up at the stars. "We will need our energy."

_______

When Jimin opened his eyes, he expected the endless black that engulfed him to frighten him like it would a child.

The glaring sun had not risen, no birds were singing their cheerful morning tunes and the woods were quiet.

Jimin's lips curled.

He perked himself up on his elbows, ready to rise to his feet and locate his missing friend, only to come to an abrupt halt when he felt a burning, stinging sensation pierce his chest and rapidly spread through the rest of his body like wildfire. Jimin exhaled a shuddering breath when he was met with none other than the young demigod, who was looking at him with shaking pupils, his face only inches away from Jimin's as tears glistened at the brim of his wide, fearful doe eyes.

"W-what... what are you-..."

Jimin's lips quivered. He looked down at himself, letting out a choked shriek when he saw an arrow lodged deep into his chest, blood seeping out of the wound it had created and drenching his clothes until there was red everywhere.

He moved his fingers around the punctured skin, aching to save himself yet holding back, afraid the slightest touch would only worsen the agonizing pain inflicted upon him.

"W-what have y-you done?" Jimin whimpered, his eyes burning as they glazed with tears. "Why w-would you..."

"I'm sorry," the demigod cried, and Jimin looked back up at the boy when he pushed the arrow deeper into his chest. Jimin gasped for air, reaching out  to clutch Jungkook's tunic in his weak fists.

"W-why?" He squeaked, feeling blood rise up his throat and pool into his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook repeated, sobbing now, weeping as he held Jimin's limp body closer to his chest and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry," he repeated, rocking Jimin side to side.

"I didn't mean to..." he whispered. "I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry, please forgive me, p-please, I'm so sorry, I... I-"

________

Wake up

Jimin fought for breath when his eyes shot open.

He was alive.

He was unharmed.

It had been a dream.

The prince was shivering, but not from the cold. He snaked his arms around his torso and curled up into a ball, crying softly as he sought comfort within the darkness surrounding him. Had it truly been a nightmare? He questioned. The prince catched his lower lip between his teeth. How on earth could it have felt so terribly real?

"Jimin?"

Jimin flinched, looking up only to see his best friend standing hunched over him, naked, out of breath, and covered in mud from head to toe.

"Jimin, are you quite alright?"

Taehyung frowned at his friend.

"You were crying... I was too afraid to wake you but- you seemed to be in so much pain..."

Jimin took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. He had to lie still for another moment or two, perfectly still until his mind and body realised it had all been a big mistake.

"A nightmare..." he whispered eventually, licking his chapped lips. "A nightmare that is all..."

Taehyung reached out to tuck some of the boy's raven locks behind his ear. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" He cooed. "Perhaps it will help us discover more about-"

"No," Jimin interrupted.

The prince shoved Taehyung's hand away from him before hurriedly pushing himself off the ground.

"It was nothing... something ominous and dark but we are going to fix that, we are here to fix that and it isn't going to happen, nothing like that is going to happen!"

Jimin scrambled to his feet. "I see your hunt was successful?"

Taehyung's expression, which had been something in the middle of deep confusion and concern, broke into a bashful smile.

"Oh, right," the prince glanced down at himself. "I look a mess, don't I?" The redhead chuckled, his cheeks flushing a soft pink even under the thick layer of dirt covering his face.

"I went hunting and catched a deer. I wanted to ask if you could bring it to the others... I'm sure they will be quite surprised."

The redhead grinned, but Jimin could tell it was forced.

"I'll go clean myself by the lake," Taehyung said eventually, and Jimin tried his best to crack a smile.

"Yes, you should," he said, crossing his arms over his chest when he realized he was still trembling. "Who knows what handsome travellers we might run into..."

______

"It is best if we stay off the main road to avoid any travellers."

Yoongi studied his map and traced the piece of parchement with the tip of a branch. "We should follow this path along the riverside until we make it to this town over here where we'll have to visit an taverna for food and wine. From there on we can continue to the temple through these hills."

Jungkook slowly raised his hand, immediately receiving everyone's attention.

"N-not sure if this is a stupid question... but what are we going to do when we do run into thieves or murderers?"

"We kill them," Yoongi said matter-of-factly, folding his map back to a smaller size and sliding it into his breast-pocket.

"B-but those are just humans..." Jungkook blurted out. "What about Centaurs, Cyclopses, Griffins, Chimeras!"

Jungkook's breathing began to quicken.

"W-why am I the only one here afraid of monsters?" He stuttered. That doesn't seem right..."

Taehyung, Yoongi and Jimin all shared an amuzed look before the king spoke up.

"You are the wimpiest fucking demigod I have ever had the displeasure of meeting," he said, shaking his head as he kindled a lantern from the flames of their bonfire.

"Though that is coming from someone who received swordsmanship lessons since he could take his first steps..." Taehyung remarked. "Who knows what kind of coward you would have been without all that training, Yoongi."

Jimin closed his eyes and sighed. Could his friends truly not go without their childish banter for a few days?

The king clenched his fists, and it was clear from the look in the man's eyes, that he was not in the mood for any repartee.

"And who knows what kind of man you would have been if you possessed even a shred of dignity."

Taehyung's lips parted with indignance.  "W-what is that supposed to mean?" He asked, blinking rapidly.

Yoongi's dark pupils shifted to Jimin and then back to Taehyung.

"Exactly what you think it means," the king hissed, turning around and holding his lantern out against the blanket of darkness surrounding them.

"Now, let's not waste any more time," he ordered sternly. The sooner we get to the temple the better. I still have a kingdom to rule."

________

Jimin looked down at his arms. No matter how many times he rubbed them, the goosebumps wouldn't disappear.

They had already been walking through the woods for an hour or so, but with the demigod's presence, Jimin still found himself having a hard time breathing.

His mind would not stop racing. Asking himself if perhaps he had he been wrong all this time. If he'd misunderstood the messages of the gods and if he should have let his brother hang the demigod anyway? Jimin swallowed thickly. Had he truly allowed a monster to walk free? To live so carelessly amongst his dearest friends?

"So... uhm."

Jimin's breath hitched. He had not realised the demigod had been walking so close to him all this time.

He snapped his head towards Jungkook who did not seem to have noticed his discomfort at all.

"Are things alright between prince Taehyung and King Yoongi?"

Jimin's eyes traveled up and down the demigod as he tried his best to keep filling his lungs.

"E-excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry," Jungkook cleared his throat and raised his chin. "I of course meant- His Majesty the king of The Styx and His Royal Highness the prince of Athens."

Jungkook looked back at Jimin with a bunny-like smile.

"They doin' okay?"