The Lonely Prince (BTS Jungkook)

The Waterside Village

Jungkook and I take our flight back to the Inn, the ash and debris beginning to finally settle around us.

There's something different in the air now, though, and the feeling is confirmed when he no longer grasps hold of my shirt to balance himself. He keeps his distance, and I figure it must be about what Jimin mentioned earlier.

Jungkook's and the Ocean Prince's fight, the fallout. My curiosity gets overbearing, and I finally pop the question.

"You want to talk about it?" I ask, testing the waters as soon as I begin to see the outline of our small town.

"Talk about what?" He questions, obviously avoiding the question. I glance back over my shoulder to give him a quick look, noticing his brows furrowed together in a look of worry.

He avoids my eye contact.

"You know." I turn my head back to face the front. "You and the Ocean Prince. Jimin said something happened in between you two. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." He simply answers, cutting off the conversation. I would normally press the subject, but I choose not to this time. I don't want to get him stirred up over something that seems serious.

"You want to talk about it?" He suddenly asks, taking me by surprise.

"What?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You and Jimin. That prolonged hug." His voice barely gets above a whisper. "That kiss."

His sudden coy-ness makes me laugh. "Oh, come on, JK! There's nothing between me and him. I barely know the guy."

"JK?" He tests out my nickname for him. "What do you mean? Then what was the hug and the other stuff?"

"Jimin is nice." I smile into the breeze that's blowing my hat brim back. "He's a good guy, and I was just thanking him for the stones. I like him, but not in a romantic way."

"Yeah, well, he may be friendly but don't get used to it." His voice perks up, and I feel his tug at my shirt once more as he gets his balance. "The others aren't like that."

With the tension lessening, I puff out a sigh of relief.

My mind wanders to thoughts about all the brothers. Just what happened between them exactly? They're family, aren't they? Why the bad blood?

I soon see the familiar red clay tops of the shops, our multistory Inn coming into view. Dante sees us and begins pawing at the ground, letting out many noises of relief.

"Hey, buddy." Jungkook scratches his head when we land. He grabs his saddlebag as he hops off, attaching it back to the saddle. I watch as he clambers over onto the horse, his shoulders letting off tension from finally being back on ground.

"Time to go next door." He pulls the reins and soon after I hear the familiar clacking of Dante's hooves on the red dirt. "Luckily for us there's a road that leads directly to the beach. His castle won't be far from there."

I nod and begin following him, both nerves and excitement bubbling up in me. I have to get some kind of a souvenir from the beach. I've never been to the beach before, heck I've never even been out of the forest before. I've read plenty of books and spell books on the ocean, and I can't wait to pick out a few ingredients and conjure up something while we're there.

We leave the warm setting of the fire village, and soon we're on a dirt road, headed south. The landscape is still barren, and I'll be happy when I can finally see a tree again.

The sun beats down on us hard, and if it wasn't for my hat, I'd be cooked medium-rare.

The journey is quiet, with lizard feet pattering along the soil. Its so peaceful that I pick through my basket, taking inventory of my items.