Track playing: Scotland
- BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

The questions swirling in his head like a swarm of bees buzzed and buzzed frustrating him. The young lad kicked the dirt, the tree bark in the next kick. He had to be calm, he reminded himself. Patience is the key, he chanted over and over in his head.

Maybe it was the train of thoughts in his head or he had not been as careful as he thought he was being. But he felt the looming presence.

Sweeping his head to the side the prince stood eye to eye with the predatory green ones. The creature growled a raucous howl erupted from it as if announcing its presence. Seokjin's breathing shallowed the shock that had taken over his senses recovering too much-needed alertness. The boy was on his own. His eyes remained expressionless yet concentrated at the irises of his opponent. His right arm snaked around his waist, hushed in its movement until it reached the patterened Handel of the silver Spartan.

Letting out one final ragged breath, he drew out the sword it's edging making a strong friction sound with scabbard. His legs separated apart as his posture bent, sword drawn out challenging the latter. The furred wolf moved forward feline and feeble. The staring contest hadn't ended yet. They circled around an invisible radius, watching carefully, determining the other's strategy.

Seokjin moved, lurching forward with the Spartan, a grunt accompanied. The wind rushed past him and he set foot on the ground. He felt every moment. The creature had been quick enough to avoid his attack. He swiftly turned back still on his toes, ankle in the air. The white creature moved quick countering him, jerking a whole Seokjin down with his head. The Spartan had been expelled from his grasp as he went down.

'Augh' His jaw hit the ground along with his chest, knocking the wind out of his gut. He coughed but turned back quickly. All his senses had started working actively as he fended for his dear life. His heartbeat quickened at the sight of the growling wolf, it's teeth grinding against each other.

The wolf hovered over him, hunger in eyes, saliva dripping out the corners of its mouth as he sniffed Seokjin around. It howled, thanking for the feast he was about to devour. Seokjin turned to stone as escape seemed impossible. The wolf brought its snout near his neck taking a long whiff, licking its despatched straight above him at the dark trees first and then the grey sky, covered in a bundle of cold clouds. His hands brushed against the moist ground littered with dead leaves of the few occasional Oak trees around. The dry leaves were covered in a dull orange, lined with mud, torn at the edges. Each with its own story to tell, one of rising the other of its fall.

The deeper you'd go into the forest the denser and more diverse the vegetation appeared. Such was the nature of the human soul as well.

Think fast!

A weak spot is all I need, but where? He shifted his eyes to assess the opponent's hairy body. Eyeing its head, neck and stomach. He couldn't go any further as the serpentine looked at him. It didn't take Seokjin long to know that it was waiting for its pack. And that made the situation more alarming, one wolf is a handful, many would be impossible to defeat.

He had been taught to be a fierce warrior and Seokjin wasn't any less. He wasn't going to go down without a fight. The softer you are the weaker. His eyes moved down the fatty layer below its jaw. He prepared his weight for he had already acquired his target. He grabbed the furred beast by its snout, a death grip on his neck and with all the energy he had, pushed forward. Tackling the wolf, he got possession of stone nearby and hit the wolf. The latter whimpered in pain. Seokjin got up to his feet to take possession of his sword.

In this game of life, you either win or lose. There's no in-between. He remembered those words by heart as if carved on stone. He stared at the wild animal with soulless eyes. He knew he had to strike, but knew it would be petty to kill the pathetic. Years of training with the sword and other weapons, he could kill the wolf standing in one place, but those years had not taken away the part of him that was human. He pictured his Apollo in its stead and knew immediately he couldn't kill it. Yet. If the creature attacked again, it would leave him no choice.

'I do not want to do this either, but you would leave me no choice if you decide to attack again.' His eyes never left the wolf as he warned the snivelling furbearer The sword pointed straight at its heart. He had already put a safe distance between them, one which would give him enough time to calculate his moves if his pal decided to go for another round against him.

He had grown hot from the fight. The temperature was at its peak aroundthe hemeWas it just the exhaustion or the heat of the moment?

He watched as the whimpering stopped. The wolf rose to its feet again. Seokjin got in position, ready to get blood on his hands. The creature stood there, looking right into his eyes. The next set of actions shocked him enough for the day. The wolf folded it's hind legs, sitting on all fours, lowering his head in front of him expressing what may appear to be gratitude. It got up and rushed behind the bushes then while a baffled Seokjin watched in awe. He stood there for a while contemplating the events of a few moments earlier.

*

Track Playing: Marie
Howard Harper Barnes

He placed his sword back in its a mill not moving an inch.

That was until he heard muttering. A really childish muttering at that, followed by giggles. And he knew right then that he had found his sister. He rushed past the bark of the old Birch tree and stopped in his tracks.

There she sat on an elevated branch, Aiyana, his sister, who he knew he was going to kill for pulling stunts like this but hug to death later on. He stood there watching her giggle and talk to what appeared to be a pine. Immediatelysadnsadness rushed herrherherrherrhim. He had been in the same position. But watching her made him experience the same pain twice. She has no one. A sad smile on his face. Maybe one day this would change? He wished for it to change. They did have friends in other kingdoms, the royals, who were much or less experiencing the same conditions as them. The lonely Royals, he chuckled, what a thought.

Seokjin turned his attention towards his sister who was having a passionate animated conversation with the high held pine fruit.

'I wanted to play hopscotch to too. But those bad girls wouldn't let me play with them. As if I would want to play with them. It was only because Seokjin won't play with me since he has practice every morning now.' Seokjin felt a guilty tug within his heart. Since his coming up of age ceremony was in less than a month, he had been practising rigorously without breaks for the showdown He wanted to prove his worth to his future subjects. His thinking was justified in every sense but forgetting about his siblings wasn't a bit justified here. They were just like him, alone, from such a young age. At least he had had a few friends he used to play with until the fairytale turned into a dream.

'Um, I don't know. Will it work? But what if they get hurt when I throw a pine fruit at them?' The child questioned herself, apparently. Her hands stretched in the air above her showing the pine fruit, eyebrows raised in question. Seokjin grew utterly disturbed at the statement as he watched her lift the hard-shelled fruit, images taking over his head.

This wasn't right. Channelling anger into actions had never been a good idea. She was a child, so he thought nothing much about it. And then he remembered about his combat.

We need to get out of here. She has been lucky to not have an encounter with those furry bastards with that sloppy countenance

He unfolded his hands and walked towards her with a gentle sway, bending as he reached her. Surrounded by her rosy scent he took a breath before speaking up. ' Hey!'

Aiyana gasped caught off guard at the sudden intrusion of seclusion. She turned around fast, the pine resting on her stomach as she stared with wide eyes. Soon realizing that it was her elder brother she relaxed, a smile creeping up as she subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.

'Brother!' They giggled together as he lifted her off the ground. Fixing one of his arms in the crook of her pink skirted knees and the other behind her neck, he twirled them around as she laughed, enjoying her brother's embrace and the rushing wind. He laughed too. He would scold her some other time.

The fits of giggles died down slowly as they came to a stop, both heaving for air.

'Now, what were you doing all alone here hmm?' Seokjin interrogated, not forgetting his grim experience with the wolf just moments ago. Something about this whole situation did not seem to sit right to him and he thought it better to slowly retreat to where Apollo awaited their arrival.

Aiyana looked away, a pout squeezing its way out on her chubby face. She hugged her brother's shoulders. Seokjin knew her tactics well enough to conclude that she was avoiding his question. He drew his upper body backwards to get a better look at her, making sure that she was okay. She looked up to him knowing she had to give in. She folded her arms as she complained to him.

'The girls don't let me play with them and the boys play tag only. Nina pushed me today, brother. Nobody likes to play with me.' Her voice grew smaller as her words progressed and she went back to hugging her brother, resting her face on his wide shoulder.

Seokjin grimaced, he had never known the younger children to have been well, rowdy. As much as he wanted to teach them a lesson, he knew he couldn't for they were only children growing up in various kinds of environment. What they see. they reflect. And it takes more than one child to change the ways things worked around here. So, for now, he tried to console his baby sister.

'It's not that they slikeeeee you. They're just jealous because you have a handsome big brother.' Seokjin soothed her running his hands on her hair. The child lifted her face to meet his eyes as he awaited a response.

'Who?' She questioned with big doe eyes, confused. Seokjin brushed the jab off his ego. For a seven-year-old, her humour was rather crude. Almost like their father's. His nose flared as his accent dropped, the royal mannerism swept away with the wind.

'Hey! It's me. I'm handsome older brother. Nobody is as handsome as me, I'm worldwide handsome. How can you not know? Look at me I'm beautiful.' To accentuate his sentence Seokjin placed one hand under his chin to emphasise his perfectly V-shaped face, making a pouty face at her. Aiyana laughed and laughed. Seokjin joined her too. He already knew what her response would have been. It's not difficult to know what a seven-year-old would say. Plus, this had kind of been a routine for the since she learned how to speak. Whenever she felt down he would make sure the sulky frown turned upwards into a beautiful girly smile.

Though it wasn't his name she had uttered first, Seokjin had always been the first person she would run to: in trouble, in happiness or maybe just to prank him. But he loved her like no other, if not more than a mother would. The duo had proved that naming the relationship didn't limit the amount of love between the two. And they talked of random things of everyday throughout, the forest resonating with their laughter.

Aiyana squealed once she realised they were riding Apollo back to the palace. She had varied interests, horse riding happened to be one of them. Seokjin stood with her in tow in front of Apollo as she patted his head. The brown horse seemed to be enjoying the petting session as much until Seokjin announced it was time to depart.

'Mother would be waiting for us. She would be furious if she knew you played down here. So, it's better that we hurry back.' The sibling duo were scaredy cats but who wasn't in front of their mothers? Placing her on the forepart of the saddle, Seokjin hooked his left leg stirrup he swung the other over to the right. With a gentle jerk to its whip they departed, Apollo guided to run a little faster this time.

Aiyana enjoyed the feeling. Cold autumn air rushing past her face made her feel cool. Her hair flew behind her as they rushed forward racing against the wind. The horse neighed, fastening his pace as Seokjin jerked the whip again, tugging on the left side as a command for the horse to turn left.

Seokjin breathed the fresh smell of the wet mud again. His hair brushed his ears completely unknown less for his appearance. The girls who watched them go had other opinions. Seokjin could never look bad, even if just in casual clothing. The rush of adrenalin surged through his veins, heart matching the pace of the horse. He smiled from ear to ear, finally feeling alive, almost drunk with the feeling. But he was not unmindful of the fact that a child was riding with him, so he slowed down a little, though he knew she was comfortable with the pace. Safety comes first.

The people watched the handsome prince and his younger sister ride away towards the palace. Of course, they would grab their attention but now they were used to it to the point it was non-existent to them.

*

Apollo stopped at the huge, guarded, wood and steel infused doors of the palace. They waited as the guards, four of them, pushed the doors to open the entrance for them. Seokjin didn't need to jerk the whip for his friend to know that he had to walk in. Apollo retreated to his stable where his meal had already been prepared by the maids. Seokjin got off, helping Aiyana down the next.

'Good horse, Apollo. You ran a lot today. Go eat and become stronger like me.' Aiyana proudly placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head up with pride. Seokjin chuckled as he finished petting Apollo. Apollo seemed to be driven by hunger as he didn't neigh back and withdrew from Seokjin's grasp, diving into his meal. The siblings chuckled at him.

*

Track playing: Tsimtsum
-Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen, Mike Nowak

Aiyana laughed hard as Seokjin chased behind her. She ran through the entrance into her home. Seokjin increased his pace as she turned back to look at him. She squealed and ran for the stairs.

She climbed the first stair only to step on fine silk.

Mother!

She stepped back onto the carpeted floor. Giggles vanished into thin air as she looked at her mother with a small smile. The woman stood straight, hands in front of her. Quite aristocratic in appearance and tone, she spoke up, 'Where were you all morning?' a chilled tone, stony and straight. Mother was quite strict. Aiyana's smile died down as she looked at the floor hands playing with the hem of her pastel pink skirt. Specks of dirt littered across the length of her top, feet covered with white turned brown shoes.

Seokjin stood by her side. Seeing as she was unable to speak up, he covered up for her.

'We were playing down by the river. That's why our clothes are dirty.' She held up a hand towards him and turned to him. Her angry eyes turned to concerned ones as she noticed the purple bruise on his neck. Her hand went up to where it started. Seokjin who previously been oblivious of the clotting blood winced, taking notice of the patch that ran down the left side of his chest.

' What happened to you? Did you get into a fight? Did she do anything to you?' To say she was alarmed was an understatement. Seokjin was taken aback by her sudden outburst, he retreated from her touch. He didn't want to worry her by giving her an account of his encounter with the wild. Then she would want to know what made him go into the forest and then the whole secret would be out. She would be furious if she knew her children were playing in the forest by themselves, talking to themselves about hitting their playmates. No, she would be more than furious.

She stood there expecting an answer. Seokjin deliberated the delay so as to come up with a convincing excuse.

' I um, got this bruise because...' He watched as a maid brought Yeonjun, their youngest brother who wailed uncontrollably of them turned their attention to the child who thrashed around in the maid's arms. Arabella took her youngest son in her arms immediately, cooing at him pushing him. When he calmed down a bit, she turned back to them, eyes void.

'Both of you have classes now. we'll talk about your little trip to town later. Off to classes Aiyana. Seokjin, go to doctor Ronald first and get your wounds tended.' And off she walked with Yeonjun in her arms cooing, towards the nursery.

Seokjin and Aiyana stod as they watched her go. When she was out of sight, Aiyana turned with concern written all over her face. Seokjin stood on his knees to match her height as he held her small hands in his. She looked down to their hands, small pearl-like droplets of tears cascading her cheeks. Seokjin grew tensed.

'Hey, look at me. I'm okay.'

'But you hurt yourself when you came for me. Sorry' She sobbed with puffs of air escaping her mouth. Seokjin wiped away her tears with his thumbs, shaking his head at her.

'I hurt myself, you didn't. You don't have to be sorry.' She hugged him. He winced, screwing his eyes shut as she crashed her head on his chest but she didn't notice as his amplitude had been negligible.

'I'm strong to remember.' He waited for her to nod. She sniffed the forming snot and nodded, holding his face in her tiny yet warm hands making him smile like it didn't hurt him at all.

'Princess, I have been asked to escort you to your classes. Come this way.' The thin, middle-age maid did not even wait for her to answer as she started walking away. Seokjin mouthed a soft go as he stood up. When she was down the hall, he turned on his heels finding the quickest way to the court physician.

He felt warm though as if it wasn't autumn. His sister cared for him so much it made his heart warm. A lot of things about the day loomed his mind. But he had classes to attend and no time to think. So he fastened his pace.

Hello again. Yes, it's a double update.

Not about to give you any spoilers but doesn't Jin's temperature vary constantly? Is it hormones? Yes, lmao./ No, something else.

Take your pick.