Swan Lake (ATEEZ JongSang story)

Chapter 11 - The Hunter

'That idiot brother of mine thinks he and his "Chosen One" can defeat me' Rothbart said as he was walking back and forth in the highest tower of his dark castle. His servants in their crow forms were silently watching him. 'And now that that boy owns the crystal, I can't do anything to hurt him.' He balled his fists.

Suddenly he stopped in front of the window. 'I can't do anything to hurt him... but what can a poor swan do against the best hunter of the kingdom?' He grinned evilly and rubbed his palms together. Like a housefly, you know.

.

'We've been. Looking for. That. Damn. Book. For. The. Whole. Day.' Mingi sighed after every single word and theatrically fell to the ground. It was late in the afternoon, almost time for the sun to set. They spent the whole day at Beomgyu's place searching for the Book of Forest Lore and for what? It was nowhere to be seen. 'Why are we always so unlucky??!' shouted Mingi and neighed as he stood back up.

'Shhh, you'll wake him up' shushed Yunho. The deer stood next to the swan lake, where Yeosang was sleeping soundly in his swan form, with his head between his wings. The unicorn laid next to Yunho on the ground. Meanwhile the badger and the hedgehog, Wooyoung and San were sitting a few meters away from them, exchanging fruits between each other.

'Where's Seonghwa?' asked Mingi sleepily. San shrugged.

'Hopefully he'll be back soon. I'm feeling unsafe without him' admitted a small voice. It was none other than Hongjoong. The baby swan was currently walking out of the lake. He stopped to shake the water out of his feathers, then tried to fly onto Yunho's back, but it seemed to be difficult with his small wings. 'Couldn't that idiot curse me into something bigger?' he mumbled. Yunho chuckled and laid on the ground next to Mingi, so the tiny bird could climb on his back.

'Sleep, Gi. We'll wake you up when Seonghwa's back' said Wooyoung. Mingi nodded and closed his eyes.

.

Prince Jongho was sitting at the edge of a field as he ate his late lunch. It was golden hour. The prince was mesmerized by the orange shades of the sunset. His friends, Chan and Kai were doing their work in the palace, but Jongho needed some fresh air as he wanted to take his mind off of the ball and everything, so he decided to go hunting by himself. He spent the whole afternoon in the forest but with no luck. That's why he decided to sit down and have his sandwich. His horse was wandering around him, chewing on some grass occasionally. Jongho took an apple from his bag and broke it in half. He gave the half of it to his horse.

All of a sudden he heard noises from above him. As he looked up, he saw a huge bird circling around above the field. He decided to take the chance and give it one last try before going back to the castle. He quickly ate the remaining apple and sat back on his horse's back, then followed the bird while arranging his bow. The bird started flying lower and flew inside the forest. Jongho followed it. They reached a tree that was laying across the small river. It also had a waterfall on the other side. Jongho got off his horse and slowly and carefully walked through the bridge. The bird flew inside a cave on the other side. He obviously went after it. It seemed like the bird wanted to take him somewhere and we all know how adventurous the prince was.

As he came out on the other side of the cave, he was in awe from the sight. The scenery there looked breathtaking and magical. The he saw the bird. It seemed to be a hawk, and it was flying right above the water.

.

Yeosang woke up startled by the others' shouting. He looked up in confusion, then he saw Rothbart in his hawk form flying right towards him. His brain couldn't comprehend what's happening. Why would the wizard attack him now when he knows that he can't hurt him? He subconsciously knew that something is not right and this might be a trap, but the only thing he could do was to fly. The others all ran in every possible direction, and Yeosang also emerged from the water, followed closely and swiftly by Rothbart.

.

Prince Jongho followed the two birds with his gaze. He was mesmerized by the grace of the swan. He completely forgot about the hawk as he's never seen such a beautiful swan before. He quickly aimed his bow and followed the movements of the bird. It was flying gracefully. The hawk suddenly changed direction and landed on a tree branch, but Jongho couldn't care less. He couldn't stop looking at the swan.

'Beautiful' he whispered. He couldn't bring himself to shoot the bird. He slowly lowered his bow. He watched silently as the swan landed on the coast of the lake, as the sun went down behind the hill.

Right then, something magical happened. The swan started glowing. Jongho gasped as he went closer and hid behind a tree. The swan emerged from the ground and started floating, as purple light surrounded it. It slowly grew bigger. Then it turned into a... person.

.

A/N: This was kinda bad, but they'll finally meet! :) Also sorry for changing povs all the time but sometimes the story requires it :D