Broken Glass - Taekook

33

By the time the sun has fully risen, our entire group is awake. Jimin approaches the horse, grazing a short distance from our little shelter, and gently connects it back up to the cart. We jump in, and he focuses for a moment, his eyes flashing the navy blue of his wings before returning to their usual soft brown. The horse nickers softly, and then begins to trot over the plains, heading in the direction of our destination. 

The home of Queen Arlayna. 

As we begin to move, I turn to Namjoon. "So...how much do we know about this place? Is it a city, a palace, a country? What is it called?" He unfurls his map, setting it out in the middle of all of us. 
"The truth is, I'm not sure. I know that we are heading in the right direction, and I know that the queen lives in the centre of the Yarolian Plains, in the north of Eithyr. But the stories told about this place are vague, and those are our only clues. We don't know what it looks like, but I would assume we'll recognise it for what it is when we see it." 

"I think it's hidden for a reason," Hoseok offers, leaning forward a little. "Think about it. If the exact location and appearance were common knowledge, it would be a lot easier for the king to send his best men there. If he has to search, send out parties to investigate the entire place, it's not worth his time. And then the queen's actual city or palace is allowed to grow in strength, to the point where he fears sending anyone out there." 

Taehyung nods in agreement. "That's true." He glances at me for a moment, and I don't miss the way his cheeks tint a little as our eyes meet. "Did you get any visions of it?" I nod, and he tilts his head a little. "What did you see?" 

I pause, closing my eyes and trying to focus on the memory I have, the last remnants of that vision. "I saw it at a distance. A great, elegant city, encircled by stone walls. I wasn't close enough to make out any details, but it was definitely massive. Hard to miss, once you're near enough, I would think." 

"And you knew it was the location of the queen?" Seokjin puts in, and I nod. "How did you know?"
"It was a sense, more than anything. Like I was lead to believe it, as I was lead there through the plains. It's the only logical answer, anyway," I admit, and he inclines his head slightly.
"An instinct, almost?" 
"Yeah, I guess. It was weird." 

He chuckles. "The river works in mysterious ways, Kook. It sends you dreams and visions instead of giving you your own abilities." 
"He had a dream last night, too," Taehyung volunteers, out of nowhere, and everyone turns to look at him for a moment. 
"How do you know, Tae?" Yoongi asks, a glint of amusement and knowing understanding flashing in his eyes for a moment. The witch glances over to me desperately, for help. 

"I left the cart for some air, and it woke him up, so we talked about it," I explain as simply as I can, and the water elemental raises an eyebrow at me. 
"Did you talk about anything else?" he asks, a little playfully, and I shake my head. "Are you sure, Kook?"
"I only said I was grateful for you guys, and Tae has a big part in you being here. I don't doubt your intentions or anything at all like that...but you have to admit that he influenced your choices." 

"Not mine," Jimin calls from the front, and Hoseok smiles fondly over at his partner. 
"I don't think he means us, babe, I think he means the others."
"Oh. I knew that." 
"You mean because he decided to join you, and that encouraged the rest of us to be part of this journey too?" Seokjin guesses, and the two of us nod at the same time. Something seems to twig in his mind, and he glances between us for a moment before smiling a little. "I think I'm beginning to understand why Yoongi was pressing the issue." 

The water elemental grins, a little smugly. "See, I'm not going crazy, then." Seokjin laughs, shaking his head at his partner. 
"You're not, Yoongs. But give them time. It's new. One day they'll tell us. For now, it's a good thing. We cannot question their choices." Yoongi tilts his head at the other, and then shrugs, disappointed.
"You're right, but I want to pry," he admits. 

"Pry into what?" Taehyung questions, a little too quickly, and I roll my eyes.
"So we had a deep conversation and we found we had some things in common, there's nothing wrong with that," I say simply, and the two elementals, and Hoseok, just raise a knowing eyebrow at me. 

"Nothing at all, Lover Boy," Yoongi returns immediately, and Seokjin hits him on the arm, not hard enough to hurt. 
"Yoongi!"
"What?" The water elemental raises both hands, pleading innocence. I can hear Jimin giggling to himself, even though he's facing the road, away from us. Namjoon just looks between us, completely lost.