The Last Dragon(Taekook)

Chapter Five

 

  The path to Dai Se Lee was long and brutal for the prince. He passed through what seemed like endless fields of wheat and barley, treacherous mountain ranges that had no room for error, and the last obstacle: The Ghwan- Cho forest.

He'd never been to through thr forest, many stay clear of the dark woods because of the curse that makes the forest avoidable. There are so many rumors of the curse, one says that the botany comes to life to kill off anything that might threaten the forest. Others say that creatures lie in the woods, waiting to take their next victim. All these rumors swirl in Jungkook's head as he stopped at the wood line of the forest, looking up at the tall trees, and the darkness that awaited him.

  He cautiously made his way into the woods, he decided to take it nice and slow just to be safe. He drew his sword, his eyes darling back and forth between the path. The smell in the air was swampy and burned Jungkook's nose, so he covered Stark's nose with a cloth.
The trees were so large, and tall that it blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the ground, and a light fog settled at their feet as they walked on. Green vines hung freely, as distant insects chirped and sang their songs.
"It's not as bad as I thought I'd be." Jungkook said as he looked around at the weird plant life, and small critters scurrying about.

As soon as he said that, a twig snapped near by making the horse uneasy, stomping its hooves on the ground. "Easy Stark." Jungkook shushed his horse and got off, he looked around but saw nothing. "Maybe it was just a rabbit?" He said as he decided to walk for a bit, leading Stark close by him.

Then, a low growling sound met Jungkook's ears, and before he could blink, these ugly dog like creatures jumped out in front of them. They were snapping their sharp teeth at Jungkook, making Stark neigh and stomp at the ground.

Jungkook sighed and got in a fighting stance. "Come on then!" He yelled as the pack of dog creatures lunged at him. He took his dragger and slung it at the first creature bringing it down immediately. He and Stark were now surrounded by the pack, two jumped at Stark but were easily stomped into mushy piles of flesh. The Last two were sliced down by Jungkook, he panted as he looked around for anymore of them. Once he felt that they were safe, he slung the blood off his sword and stepped over the bodies, one was laying on his side, gurgling on his own blood,  Jungkook's dagger protruding in its lungs.

It whined and tried to move, but all it could do was lay there and suffer. Something in Jungkook's heart twinged at the sight. He knelt down and pressed his knee on the neck of the beast and pulled out his dagger. The creature yelped and struggled a bit before taking its last breath. "I'm sorry, may your spirit live on in this forest, protecting everything sacred..." Jungkook got up and grabbed Stark's brindle, leading him down the path.

Soon it was dark, and Jungkook couldn't see three feet infront of him. So, the two settled down in a small opening, Jungkook built a tiny little fire to keep them both warm. "Good job today." Jungkook smiled and handed Stark a juicy red apple, as Jungkook munched on a dried piece of jerky.

The forest was alive that night, creatures beloved and growled all throughout the night, making it impossible for Jungkook to sleep. He sat up from his blanket and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ugh..." He grumbled and added more wood to the fire. His eyes caught something in the bushes, a pair of red eyes stared back at him. He immediately jumped up and grabbed his sword standing infront of Stark who was panicking.

"Come at me already you beast!" Jungkook yelled into the bushes, and out stepped a massive dog creature, baring its enormous teeth. Jungkook's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, that when he realized that he'd killed this creature's pups.

The beast let out a horrible screech that rung Jungkook's ears. "Shit!" Jungkook spat out as he jumped on Stark's back and took off into the darkness.

"We fucked up buddy!" He told Stark as he dodged vines and thick branches. Stark neighed and ran faster, the beast close on their tails. Jungkook looked back, only for a split second, only to be knocked off his horse by a brach.

He hit the damp forest floor with a thud, all the air leaving his lungs as he fought fought breathe. He gasped for air as he stood up drawing his sword. The beast was still charging at him, Jungkook's entire body tensed up ready for the impact.

Suddenly, an arrow whooshed by into the beast's head. It screeched and clawed at the arrow in its skull. Then a silhouette came from nowhere, decapitating the creature.

It's head rolled all the way to Jungkook's feet, making the prince fall back on his ass as he watched the life leave the creature's eyes.

"I can't believe you left without us!"

A familiar voice flooded Jungkook's brain. "Jimin?" Jungkook squinted into the darkness as more silhouettes came closer. "Who else would it be?" Jimin came into view, his gold-tinted armor glimmering in the moonlight. Everyone was there, glaring at him.

"Arenyou crazy!?" Hoseok walked up to him and punched him in the shoulder and then helped him up. "Ack- what are you guys doing here?" Jungkook said as he held his stomach.

"Isn't obvious? We're saving your ass." Jin said as he put his hand on his hip and glared at Jungkook.

"Did my father send you to take me back?" Jungkook looked at Namjoon who had his jaw set tightly. "That was the original plan, yes." He said as he wiped the blood off his sword with a cloth.

"Well I'm not going back until I have the dragon!" Jungkook said as he got back on Stark. "We know, that's why we're going with you, you idiot." Yoongi said as he got on his horse too, everyone else did the same.

"No, I need to do this by myself." Jungkook said as he turned and started walked back towards his camp. "Yeah that's not gonna happen." Jimin said as he followed close behind Jungkook. "We are a team! And we are supposed to protect you!" Jimin sounded like he was genuinely hurt by Jungkook's leaving.

"Ugh! Fine, I know that no matter what I say, you all are going to follow me anyway!" Jungkook flailed his hand around to emphasize his frustration.

"Good, now that we have that covered, let's go get some rest." Namjooon smiled as they reached the camp.