The Lonely Prince (BTS Jungkook)

Ice Skating Frenzy

The village is exactly how I imagined it to be. Icy homes decorated with the wool and skin of wild animals, each hut connected to a cliffside and tucked away.

The village people, obviously not immune to the cold like their prince, wear fuzzy jackets draped down almost to their feet with small horns on the hood, and snow boots similar to my own.

There seems to be a small celebration happening, children running around laughing, throwing snowballs, making men from the snow, or they're sliding all over a frozen lake a few feet from us.

The adults hang back, gossiping along with each other. Some sell items, others cook. The elderly sit on polished rocking chairs, bundled in blankets but not daring to miss the sight of their grandchildren playing.

"Its Jin!" One small boy yelps from the ice, feet scrambling to quickly run our way. Or, at least, he's trying to. His feet can't get traction, and for a few seconds he's running in place, the sight making us all chuckle.

"Get him!" One of the girl's states, stopping her snowman building to rush us with a flurry of snowballs. Jin laughs, hastily running from the girl and the now pack of children that are trying to take him down.

Jin is probably the humblest prince, despite all the bad things Jungkook has said about him. I've never seen a prince run with his kingdom's children or have them throw things at the prince. They seem to treat him like a big brother, and the feeling makes a warm smile adorn my face.

We drink hot coco, a sweet and warm beverage made from a plant that can be found in the ocean kingdom, surprisingly. Its heat warms the chill that had set in on my body, making me now feel at home in the frosty village.

Village men sell pieces of smoked meat on sticks, and I have quite a few myself, stuffing them in my face like its my last meal. They're all tender and juicy, so by the time Jin pulls me towards the ice, I feel like my jacket button will snap from overeating.

The lake is almost hidden behind a wall of snow-covered green pines. I would have never seen it myself, if there hadn't have been an opening through the greenery. Jin guides me, his hand wrapped around mine.

Despite him having no gloves on or, in fact, any warm clothing on, he radiates warmth like a heater. His palms are soft and almost scorching compared to mine. The longer I hold his hand, the more his warmth seeps into my body.

The ice is tricky, Jungkook opting to stay by the pines and just watching us. He never takes off that irritated face, huffing and crossing his arms as I lean on Jin for support.

The children have stopped their snowball fight, and upon seeing Jin take the ice, they follow. They expertly slip and slide around, some even playing a game of tag. Me, on the other hand, I'm just trying not to fall on my backside.

"You're okay. I got you." Jin whispers sweet words of affirmation in my ear, beginning to stir up my butterflies that I haven't felt in a while. He tightly holds me, instructing me on how to move my feet.

After a while, I get the hang of it. We make a few passes around the lake, a boy teasing us on how slow we're going.

"Watch it or I'll have to teach you a lesson!" Jin playfully teases, resulting in the boy to stick his tongue out. That seems to be the final straw, him leaving me behind as he takes off after the boy.

I stand perfectly still. Without my anchor here, I'm a baby deer on this ice. My knees buckle in together, my feet beginning to slide despite my attempt at standing like a statue. Shaky hands outstretch, trying to gather my balance, it's a loosing fight, though.

One slight movement of my foot makes me begin to topple over, eyes frantic and searching for something I can balance myself on. There's nothing, though, since I'm in the middle of a lake with fifteen village children and a playful prince who's not paying attention.

My eyes snap shut, ready for the impact on my backside, but instead I feel a strong grip on my waist, anchoring me.

"You're okay. I got you." Jungkook is suddenly at my side, hands on my sides, sending sparks through the thick jacket.

Those words. The exact same words, except now, the butterflies don't hesitate to spring to life, running warmth up my spine all the way to my ears, nose, and cheekbones.

My eyes widen with realization, staring at the ruffled, black-haired prince who searches the crowd for his brother, so he can scold him for almost letting me fall.

My knight in a fuzzy black jacket, cinnamon-colored eyes hard with determination.

Oh my. I think I like him. Like, like-like him.

My mouth must be gaped open with shock, not knowing how to deal with these emotions that are suddenly coming to head.

One thought is prevalent: outlined in the white scenery, snowflakes dusting his dark hair, quick to protect me, Jungkook has never looked more handsome. Not the first time I saw him, not when he was almost naked at the hot spring, but now. A firm arm wrapped around my waist, mouth turned into a hard line, nose scrunching with anger as he holds me, protecting me.

"Jin you idiot! Why did you let her go?" He shouts, breaking the fantasy that was about to happen in my mind. "Come on, lets go back to solid land before you break your ass."

And there it went. Any hint at a romantic moment between the two of us, gone.

He steadily walks me back to land, only removing his hands when he knows my feet are firmly placed on snow.

"It's getting dark." He says, pointing to the sky. "Dante will be worried."

"Right." I seem to answer in understanding but knowing that my brain is still clouded with those butterflies from before.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Jin rushes to meet us by the ice. "I got caught up with them. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine." I smile to him. "Jungkook helped me."

Jungkook helped me. Gosh, just saying that sentence makes me giddy.

"But I think its about time we left." I sigh, glancing around to give the village a final look. "It's getting dark, and we have a long journey still ahead of us."

"Okay..." Jin pouts, pulling me into a hug, which would normally make the butterflies stir, but not this time. "Promise to come back and visit, okay? We can drink some more hot coco, and I'll even make you a pair of ice skates!"

I laugh, agreeing to his terms. Him and Jungkook hug it out, despite Jungkook's annoyed expression, and we're off to pick up Dante.

"We only have three more to go." I say as we walk through the snowy woods. I watch the ingredients in my basket jangle around as I walk beside Jungkook.

"Good." He says shortly, making my heart ache. "I'm getting tired of this traveling."

"Oh. Yeah, me too." I lie, casting my eyes down. In truth, I feel like I could travel with him forever. Us never stopping, camping out, visiting family, it feels like it should never end. There's still so much I haven't seen, and I'm soaking up every second of it.

We walk until we're out of the frosty woods and back at the little shop hut. Its warm enough now to take our jackets and boots off, thanking the man for letting us borrow them for the time being.

Back in our regular clothes, we begin to set off.

"Wait," I stop him as he begins to swing his leg over Dante. "It's getting dark soon, right? Shouldn't we camp out somewhere?"

"Actually, we need to travel at night for where we're going next." He answers, getting on Dante's back.

"Ah, okay." I reply, having no idea what he was talking about.

My broom has lost its flying ability since the last time I used it, so my hand shuffles through the basket to find another flying potion. My eyes widen when I don't see one.

Oh, shoot. 

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