- Chapter 28 :

"Keter rhymes with heater." Taehyung randomly said as you swam through the deep water. You made a face and shot him a questioning look as he shrugged, "The water here is warm and Keter rhymes with heater." You sighed and said nothing, sending him a small smile.

You looked at little Magnolia, who was rested upon Yoongi's shoulders as he swam, smiling and teasing Hoseok about the fact he that never learned how to swim. 

Jimin pulled up near you as he quickened his pace to reach you. You were swimming, sandwiched between Taehyung and Jimin, still looking around the water in paranoia. "Are you cold?" Jimin asked you and you frowned, following his eyes to see your shaking hands.

You didn't even realize.

The water was warm, as Taehyung had compared it to a heater, and yet you were shaking. "No..I think.." You trailed off, staring at your shaking hand in thought. You were scared, nervous. You just didn't want to say it out loud and cause the two boys to have the same reaction as you.

You were still staring at your hand, however, this time Jimin's hand was resting on your's as well. You looked up in surprise at Jimin, who was sending a sweet eye smile at you. "Don't worry. You have all of us! You're stronger than you know!" He cheered and you felt yourself become flustered as a faint blush spread across your cheeks.

You scoffed and looked the other way, coughing and you smiled. "Thanks, Chim. That helped a lot more than you might think." You said in a small voice, smiling. He hummed happily in return.

Jimin didn't let go of your hand.

It wasn't that long until you had reached the great gates of Keter. The entire kingdom was enclosed in a golden dome, seemingly transparent at angles that seemed to let light in and out, reflecting and causing the dome to look like a sparkling gold contraption. You were honestly in love. 

A quick memory of Thara's mother made you rethink that.

The soldiers simply swam close to the gold gates as they slid open, allowing your lot to enter with ease. You gaped at how beautiful Keter was. The golden city, as you had learned that it was called was as reflective as the dome protecting. It reminded you of the pearl hidden inside of clams back on Orpheus. 

"This is our great Kingdom of Keter. Follow us and we shall lead you to our Queen." One soldier said, swimming swiftly through the warm water as you followed, muttering to Magnolia about how beautiful the architecture of this place was. From a distance, you saw Alnilians, with normal feet, only the tiny bit webbed as they swam through the water. 

The people here were basically painted with tattoos and piercings as it seemed common. With your right finger, you fiddled with your belly piercing, as you'd never seen so many people with a common piercing. You had ear piercings too of course, but this was something else.

You suddenly really wanted to get a tattoo.

"Lucia." You were startled out of your stupor as Namjoon swam up to you, looking around wearily. "I feel like we cannot trust these soldiers...or this 'Queen'. How did they know so much about us?" He whispered, meeting your eyes. You nodded, sending a glare at the soldiers, "It is sketchy, but we have no choice. The legend is here somewhere and we couldn't just run away, it would've done more bad than good." You reasoned, more to yourself than to Namjoon.

He didn't look convinced but nodded nevertheless, sighing as he looked down. You noticed the eye bags weighing down his skin and the way his shoulders drooped. Immediately you reached and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at you in confusion.

"I know it's tiring, you just joined us, leaving Minrei behind and suddenly you're thrown into this disaster," Namjoon nodded, his lips turned upside down. "I'm sorry we didn't have more time before, it's been getting to all of us. The minute we're picked up from our planet we're thrown into motion." You yourself paused. It had been weeks since you had rested and had time to yourself.

"I'm not going to lie. It's only going to get worse from here. I'm supposed to gather all of the legends...but then what? I don't even know how to fight Mogaria, forget saving the universe." You said...realizing you were making it about yourself, you paused and cleared your throat.

"But, I'll always be here for you. We all will be. Even if not in her physical form, Minrei will always be with you here." You said, tapping Namjoon where his heart rested. Namjoon looked at you, slowly smiling. He still had those dark bags, but they seemed to hold their own weight, and his shoulders seemed to rise. 

"Thank you." You smiled in return. 

"We've reached the palace." One of the soldiers gruffly said as your eyes averted to the tall-not surprisingly gold- building in front of you. You moved your feet, getting a better view of the palace by swimming forward when one of the soldiers held your wrist tightly, giving you a menacing glare with his beady black eyes.

Almost immediately a warm purple aura surrounded you and you were pulled back from the man's grip into a different- more familiar one. Yoongi was having a glare off with the soldier, who just smiled smugly and kept swimming forward.

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings." Yoongi said in a soft voice. You looked at him, weirded out by the softness of his voice and was met with his eyes, tired but determined, staring back at you. You felt a weird feeling in your stomach and suddenly were hyper-aware of his hand that was resting on your waist. 

Hoping the light blush covering your tan skin wasn't too obvious, you nodded and released yourself from his grip, swimming over to Hoseok, who was acting like a dolphin as Magnolia sat on his shoulder, giggling loudly as her eyes scrunched up in delight. You smiled in return as Hoseok greeted you with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

The doors to the palace opened as you swam in, new guards lining the halls as they sent you weary glances, some smiling while others completely avoided your curious stares. You were too preoccupied looking at the walls of the palace, memorizing every single corridor of the palace, watching Tera seemingly do the same as it faintly emitted a blue light into the surrounding liquid.

Your group turned one more corner before the palace guards escorting you since the beginning turned around and pointed at the doors. "The Queen is waiting." They said nothing more and stood like statues, not even looking into your eyes. 

You frowned and raised a brow as you swam to the door, Taehyung reaching for the handles and pulling gently. The doors opened easily and you both swam in first, taking in the light that flooded through the large glass windows.

You looked back at the throne to find a woman sitting on the gold throne, her eyes ripping you all apart as she smiled, revealing sharp canine teeth. You frowned dramatically, "Ah shit, here we go again."

You heard Hoseok snort, but covered his mouth with his hand. The Queen's expression did not waver as she stared at you straight into the eye, almost challenging you to look away. You felt a chill run up your spine and scrunched up your nose in dislike. 

"Welcome to the great Kingdom of Keter. I am your host, and the ruler of this wonder, Queen Karis." She smiled, almost tenderly. You nodded, bowing, unsure if it was even a custom on this planet as it was a custom back of Orpheus. 

"I am sure your group has many questions." She inquisitively commented. "Hell yeah we do, and hopefully you'll be up to answer them all." Yoongi said with a frown, looking the Queen up and down. Queen Karis seemed genuinely surprised before smirking, "Of course, however before that I'd love for you to join me for lunch." She pronounced each word sharply, meeting everyone's eyes.

You almost felt intimidated to deny her request. You didn't have much of a choice anyways. Then again, it seemed comical to imagine how she'd be rendered dumbfounded if you just replied with a 'no'. You nodded slowly, still distracted by your thoughts as the Queen got up, slowly swimming past you as her long white dress flowed and unfolded in the liquid.

It was beautiful, the patterns of the dress and the material. But it also reminded you of the amount of wealth these pigs were drunk in, and the people that were left dehydrated for a drop of the same drink. 

Everything was happening so fast...You flushed your tensions and anger and turned, Namjoon swimming in length with you.

"Do you.." He paused, his ears lighting up a pink color as you followed the lead of the Queen, who seemed to be chatting with the guard next to her. You gave Namjoon a weird glance and cocked your head to the side, "Do I what?" You prompted him as he sighed.

"I am not sure since I haven't been with you guys for long but, are you and Jimin in a relationship or something?" He finally asked, keeping his voice to a low whisper so only the both of you could hear his voice. You immediately were taken aback, opening and closing your mouth like a fish. 

"Um no. Why?" You tried laughing it off but instead scoffed. Namjoon scratched the back of his head, "Ah sorry, he was holding your hand earlier. He seems to be close to you, and keeps glancing at you so I just was confused." You gaped and nodded slowly. It was true, Jimin's actions were prompting you to think in a direction you didn't think of before.

"Is that the only reason you asked?" You slowly questioned as Namjoon slowly peeked behind you to another figure. He then looked back at you and shook his head, "No. Uh I mean yes." Then he placed a hand on your shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry. It was just a guess, he might not actually even feel that way." Namjoon nodded at you and swam to match Hoseok's pace before you could question him more. 

You bit your lip and wondered why Namjoon had turned back. Turning your own head back, you only met the inquisitive eyes of Min Yoongi.

"I want to sit next to Mama!" You grinned at Magnolia and patted her hair, allowing her to rest in the chair next to you. You were in the process of understanding how nothing felt wet even though the whole kingdom was submerged in liquid. Some mysteries even scientists couldn't figure out it seemed.

The chair next to you pulled out and Jimin sat, smiling at you. "He keeps glancing at you" You shook your head, maybe Namjoon was overthinking this all. Or maybe, Jimin was developing a crush on you. You tenderly smiled back and looked down at the table, zoning out of the ongoing conversation as you began to think.

Jimin wasn't a bad person for sure. He was sweet, strong, supportive, caring- he was a good person. But what if he did really like you? Did you feel the same way? You didn't deny the way you felt happier when he accompanied you, nor the way you giggled whenever he cheered you up. But..he wasn't the only one who made you feel such strong emotions.

You looked up at Yoongi, who was staring at you with wide eyes. Immediately your's widened too- he could read minds. Well then. You looked away from Yoongi completely and stroked Magnolia's hair, more to comfort yourself than her. It wasn't the time to think about love, you had so many other things on your plate like saving the galaxy!

"I sincerely hope that you will all enjoy today's feast. We prepared it specially for your lot." Karis said with a wide grin. You smiled, but you were certain it wasn't reaching your eyes. You felt exhausted all of a sudden. 

Dishes were served onto your plates as Karis sat at the end of the table, close to Taehyung and Hoseok. The two energy balls were keeping Karis busy with questions, but you knew they were secretly trying to fish information out of her. You smiled at their efforts. 

"Here." You looked down to see a hand close to your plate. Jimin slid a piece of the pink food you'd fell in love with onto your plate. You looked at him with wide eyes and blinked, "You don't want it?" You questioned. Jimin smiled at you, "You ate it so fast, its obvious you like it. Take it." You nodded and pinched his cheeks when his eyes melted into a single line as his pearly teeth congregated into a smile.

Suddenly another pink slice was placed in your plate and you and Jimin looked up to see Yoongi retracting his now empty fork. "You can have mine too, it tastes disgusting anyways I wouldn't want it." You nodded and looked back up to find Jimin and Yoongi staring at each other. You gulped and pushed both of their shoulders, faking a laugh.

"Hey do you guys want to hear a joke?" You said exuberant. Jimin smiled at you and looked down to his plate, avoiding your question, and Yoongi just snorted.

Lovely.

You turned your attention to Namjoon, who was sitting across from Magnolia, next to Yoongi. "Joonie, talk to me." You said almost desperately, gritting your teeth to get out of the tense atmosphere. Namjoon's eyes flickered up from his study of the gadget on his wrist as he smiled tensely, understanding the situation.

You ended up making small talk with the tall man, Magnolia joining in and spreading her rays of joy as you finally felt a bit cheered up. Queen Karis stood up, calling for a silence in the hall. 

"I would like to conclude this feast. For the rest of the night you will stay in rooms that the guards will escort you to. Tomorrow morning we will meet and I shall quench your thirsts for knowledge." You would like to assume that she was suggesting, but it came out more of a demand. You had no choice then. 

Queen Karis walked past you with her flowing dress and group of soldiers, not before turning a tad to the side and staring at you from her peripheral vision. You kept her stare, and shuddered when she smirked, walking away. Why couldn't there be one planet where the royal monarchs were kind and not evil or corrupt?

As she had mentioned, guards stood and didn't meet your gazes as they silently led the path to your rooms. From the tension and silence, you almost would think they were leading you to your beheading or execution- which seemed quite normal for this kingdom. 

The bitterness of seeing Thara's mother clouded your mind all over again and you kept your head low, creating circular motions on Magnolia's small hand. She didn't mind and seemed to be smiling as she swam with you, her other hand holding onto Yoongi's shirt. The male didn't seem to mind, but did seem flustered.

"These are the rooms." The guards said as they pointed towards two different rooms. They left Team Des to decide roommates, and it was only about a minute until, "I want to stay in the same room as Lu." Jimin piped, his fists close to his chest. Yoongi sent him a look, arching his eyebrows and rolling his eyes, "And why is that?"

They both stared at each other.

And that was how you ended up rooming with Magnolia, Taehyung and Namjoon. The neighboring room was Jimin, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Tera. Quite fitting as the ones who wanted to room with you(although you were unsure about Yoongi) ended up being separated from you.

You didn't mind as you wanted to be equally as close with all the members and treat them fairly. 

"I guess Namjoon and I will share a bed." Taehyung smiled as you nodded, patting Magnolia on the head. The room itself was wide and spacious, a light green color. There were two king sized beds with intricate detailing and a bathroom that from Namjoon's review, was splendid. There were two couches that seemed delicate and soft just by the looks and a window that was concealed by curtains that refused to move from their rigid structure.

Weird it was.

You pounced onto the bed, whistling as you stared and gave the room a once over one more time. "This whole thing seems like a trap if you ask me." Namjoon said seriously, seating himself onto the bed with his hands clutching his forehead. Taehyung nodded, sitting onto the couch as it deepened to his weight.

"I can't help but agree. This whole situation about how she knows everything about us is sketchy. Hoseok and I were talking to her and honestly I can bet you Mogaria has something to do with this. I mean she knew all about us and arrival and is trying to keep us in the mansion! We don't even know what she wants to do with us!" Taehyung sighed. You knew this was serious when Taehyung became cold and foreshadowing- the personality in him you encountered when you first met him.

"I..I want to research more about Thara's mother. She said the doctors were being kidnapped and by the timing of everything I can bet you it had to do with Karis. Maybe if we can find leads on that, we can also pinpoint the location of our legend." You said, uncertainty clouding your mind.

You weren't used to leading and making such big decisions. Back on Orpheus it was always about you and your survival, you never worried about anything or anyone else after your mother passed. You but your teeth and sighed, looking to Magnolia. The girl was sitting with a serious face, pondering almost.

"Sneak out Mama." 

Everyone paused. You looked at Magnolia with an unsure smile, "What?" You asked, wondering if you had heard wrong. Apparently, you hadn't. She looked up a you with a determined glow.

"If you can sneak out tonight and venture into the castle without anyone catching you, I know that you could figure something out, even a small clue or location. They think we're asleep so this is probably when they are doing their decision making and meeting holding- it's the perfect opportunity." Magnolia nodded to herself, a gleam in her eyes.

You were taken back, this was an 8 year old child, how did she even come up with that.

"It's dangerous, certainly dangerous, but it could work." Namjoon nodded, hiding his surprise at Magnolia's maturity as well. Taehyung seemed unsure, but knew from the look on your face that there was no going back now. You had a plan and Namjoon's confirmation, it would be worth a try.

"Someone should go with you, not any of us. We don't have powers suited for infiltration, rather offense. Take the two people you know are better suited for infiltration." You nodded as two people etched themselves into your mind.

You peeked outside of your door and looked both ways before sighing- there were no guards nearby. You could hear them down the hall, but at least there weren't in your line of vision. You felt like you were in a spy movie as you looked back to Taehyung and Namjoon, both of them sending your way a thumbs up. Magnolia was fast asleep on Namjoon's lap, her innocent features adorable to your eyes.

You steadily left the warmth of the room, and closed the door, glad that the liquid didn't carry sound as efficiently as air and oxygen did. You swam your way a few feet to the next room and knocked every so carefully, not loud enough to alert the soldiers, but loud enough to alert the people inside.

The door opened ever so slightly and an arm grabbed your wrist and sucked you into the room. When you adjusted yourself to the sudden movement, you found yourself in an identical room to yours, except Tera was charging, Hoseok was nowhere to be seen-preferably in the bathroom, and Yoongi and Jimin were staring at you.

"Is there a reason you came here knowing you could've been caught by guards?" Yoongi massaged the bridge of his nose, sighing in anger. He was the one who pulled you in. You looked to Jimin's concerned expression and smiled, "The guards are down the hall, not anywhere near us. And..I came here for a reason." You said as Yoongi's eyes lit up.

"I know. You want Jimin and I help to you infiltrate the mansion to find information or leads on the doctors, basically diverting our mission of finding the legend because you seem to think that the legend coincidentally is one of the kidnapped doctors, or because you're so occupied thinking about Thara's mother you forgot your real mission." Yoongi said, shaking in anger.

You backed up against the wall, hurt on your face. "No, Yoongi," You reached out to grab his hand but he moved away, "You need to stop thinking you can help every single person who needs help. We have a bigger cause here and we can't delay our time on this!" He said, flailing his hands around.

You bit your teeth and looked to the floor, "Yoongi, my job is to save the galaxy. These people are in our galaxy and so are my responsibility. It's not always about the big picture, and if I left Thara's mother and abandoned my promise, I wouldn't be a good person nor would I be able to live with myself. I have a feeling that the legend is connected to all of this, so please- please help me." You said, looking to the floor and unable to meet his heated glare.  

You felt a hand on your cheek and looked up to see Jimin tenderly smiling at you. "I'll come with you and support you no matter what."

The plain difference between Yoongi and Jimin. It was like night and day. One was caring, loving, and supportive while one was cold, hard, and confusing, but there was something else to him. Something you needed to figure out and unravel. One seemed ready to be with you whether it was through day or storm, but one seemed to place himself in front of the storm, not allowing you to feel its winds and channeling them instead as much smaller gusts.

You looked to Yoongi, looked him straight in the eyes as he sighed. You knew he'd come with you and Jimin anyways. Because even though he didn't show it, he was ready to take on the storm so that you didn't even know it existed.

It made all the difference.

Night and Day.

NEXT ON CHAPTER 28: NIGHT AND DAY

Your eyes widened as you stared at the paper, the names of people that were stolen from their homes and hospitals.

You brushed your finger against it and found her name, Thara.

-

You felt his dark gaze on you from behind as you turned to face him. "How do you feel about me?" You asked in a small voice.

He licked his lips and looked away.

hey clouds!!!!

i have decided to call you all my clouds! i am used to calling you all loves, but since our username is aero, which is related to the sky, i decided to make the reader's endearment clouds, i hope you like it <3

i am sorry for the long wait! sophomore year at hs has been proving to be more difficult than i imagined! i will post more often from now on though as i have come up with a schedule!

i do apologize for the short chapter though, it was only 4k words ): i currently have a bad cold and am missing the days when i could breathe properly..wow so dramatic i know

who do you ship luciel with?

-jimin

-yoongi

im interested for you to see what happens as from here on the book starts getting interesting and past the first boring stage where i was setting everything up so i hope you all are ready!

until next time my lovely clouds,

-lunar