A Garden Of Loneliness

Act One: The Magician - Chapter Two

Authors Note

(Reminder. This is the first draft of my novel. I'm simply having fun before I have to change the characters for draft two. Thank you! Have fun on the ride!)

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The melody of the waves lapping at the shore created a delicate rhythm in the air as the singing caw of the seagulls echoed in the distance. A warm breeze carried with it the smell of honeysuckle, lavender, roses, and something uniquely related to dirt and the forest as dandelion seeds danced along its current and floated to parts unknown. The music of life floated around Taehyung beautifully as he sat with his feet dangling off the edge of the cliff a little ways away from his mother's cottage and leaned back onto his palms with his eyes closed and his head tilted up towards the cloud filled sky. Shadows from the trees obscured his handsome features as his thick lashes tickled at his full round cheeks and his dark locks draped over his shoulders and down to his tailbone from the months he had gone without cutting it. A stunning smile that was boxy and enticing, mischievous and boyish despite his obvious age, spread over his face at the sound of approaching footsteps. And as the sound grew closer he called out towards the one making them. Already knowing who they were without even having to open his eyes. "I thought you would have been gone by now."

Eventually, one opal eye peeked open and the loose fabric of his shirt slid down his shoulder to reveal sun kissed honey skin and the dancing ink of his tree tattoo that laid along his neck and clavicle as he tilted his head to the side in order to look at his brother. And once Jimin sat down, he began to pick at the grass beneath his palms with long nimble fingers before blowing them into the air with a kiss and transforming them into bubbles. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing you do that." Sitting similarly to him, Jimin dangled his legs over the side of the cliff much like Taehyung was and then poked his nose. "And no, I won't be leaving until tonight."

"I don't see why you are staying longer than you have to. I'm going to be okay. So you shouldn't stay just for me." And he truly meant it. These last few months since his escape from the King's dungeons had been harrowing but healing. His days were filled with anxiety on top of the confusion of starting over and moving on from a life he had known since the moment he had become an adult. Just as his nights were filled with nightmares and torture that he could still feel even if it was just in its phantom form. The cold embrace of pain and hopelessness still controlled him to a degree. But as time wore on, he was starting to get better. Part of him knew that there was going to be a large part of him that was never going to be the same. But an even larger part than that was waring with that side of him as he took each day one step at a time and simply tried to live. To live and figure out who he was and who he was going to be now that he was no longer the right hand to an empire on the brink of destruction. So the last thing he wanted was to hold his brothers back with him. They would never admit it. The three of them were as thick as thieves after all. But he knew what they were sacrificing even if they would never say it. It was bad enough that Yoongi was determined to care for him the rest of his days. Jimin though... he had a life and opportunity to be happy in a way that was not sealed to him. So he should take it while he could. Because sooner rather than later people would come looking for them. "Instead of wasting your time here with me, you should be reconnecting with that wolf of yours."

Jimin snorted and rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh please." Taehyung couldn't help but chuckle at this. His deep voice vibrating his entire chest as his soft words joined the dandelion seeds in the breeze. "Are you really trying to say that you and Seokjin are not an item?"

Another eye roll. "I really don't know what you and Yoongi are talking about when you two mention this. There is nothing going on between the two of us. We are simply friends. Sometimes rivals." A fond look passed over Jimin's face after he said this and he got lost in thought for a brief moment as he stared out towards the ocean just below the cliff. "There's nothing more going on."