𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 ― song mingi

𝒐𝒏𝒆

 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑹𝒀 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑺 crunched beneath mingi and haneul ' s feet as they made their grand escape from the dark forest. haneul ' s delicate dress had torn in multiple places as she ran , not letting the branches slow their place. he kept his hand on her waist , a subtle way of saying 'i'm still here'. 

"i told you not to come !" he yelled as they tore across bushes. normally , haneul would ' ve stopped right there to knock some sense into mingi ' s head , but they didn ' t have the time.

"did you seriously think i would let you go into this blasted forest alone ? are you dense ?" she shouted back. mingi looked at her with wide eyes. she stared right back at him.

as they reached the edge of the forest , mingi stopped short. the roars of the beast had grown louder and closer. his hand fell away from haneul ' s waist. she suddenly felt cold without him by her side. she turned around to see him facing the forest , his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. 

"mingi ?" she quaked. she watching the black , curling horns emerge out of the shadows. "no, no, no, no." she took a step back. 

"i'm a knight , han. i ' m not a child," he teased , drawing his sword from his side, "i can handle these things."

"mingi, this is not-" 

he grinned crookedly. "i got this , stop worrying so much."

he squared his shoulders and took a fighting stance. the grin had been wiped clean off his face as the dark snout of the beast emerged out of the shadows. it roared , the sound almost split their eardrums. 

"now go !" he barked , his grip tightening around his sword so much his knuckles turned white. "do not stay here longer ! warn them all , han." he looked at haneul one last time , before lunging toward the beast.  

there goes my defender, she thought, taking a few steps backward and sprinting away. 

⁀➷ *+   🥨  ˚༉  * >◦   🍞  ꒱

haneul ran into the village like a madwoman , her shouts drowned out by the celebrations. she shoved her way through the crowd , trying to get to the stage. her mother stood on the stage , looking down at her disciples. she kept her eyes on her daughter fighting her way through the crowd. a cold smile spread across her lips as her daughter caught her eyes. 

"mother !" haneul belted , her voice breathless and husky. the queen kept the cold smile on her face as her daughter caught her breath. "mother !" she exclaimed again. 

"yes ?" her mother replied in a cheery tone. the young girl licked her lips. 

"mingi...he..." she breathed, "...he ' s going to fight the beast." 

"oh?" the queen smiled wider , "how do you know this , darling ? if you were here all night ?" she knew exactly what she was doing. haneul was caught red handed , and cursed herself in her mind. 

"i left for a while." she inhaled and exhaled deeply. "but that isn ' t the point. mingi is probably dying , and he needs help." she wiped her palms on her torn , satin dress. 

the older woman pursed her smooth lips. her eyes bore holes into her daughter. "you are nothing but a weak child. you are useless to me." her eyes turned to an inky black as she grabbed hold of her daughter ' s chin , forcing her to look at her. venom poured out her eyes , running down her cheeks , to her neck and down to her periwinkle gown. 

haneul gasped as her mother ' s hand moved to strangle her. 

"s-stop." she stuttered , her mother 's supernatural strength lifting her off her feet. only , her mother didn ' t. she felt like she was suffocating , her vision almost going black. 

then she woke up.  

she sat up with a start , gasping for air. she reached to her nightstand for a glass of water , her hands trembling. she gulped the water down , inhaling sharply after she finished it. she set the glass down. her eyes searched the room for something. it felt off. 

it always did after she had visions like that. the magic that she had was something special, it beautiful , but terrifying. her hands gripped the soft sheets of her bed , she was still trying to understand the vision. 

there came a soft knock on the door. her eyes quickly snapped to it as she carefully put her feet on the cold tile of her room. she walked over to the door and opened it carefully , as if she was expecting something to spring at her.

her defender stood tall in front of her. "hey , good morning." he said , smiling warmly. 

"h-hey." she pursed her lips. she looked at his face , trying to memorize every single detail of it. from his nose bridge to his blonde hair. 

"you okay ?" mingi leaned on the door frame. he folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"i ' m fine." she answered quickly , still trying to memorize him. 

"your mother sent me to get you." he stated. 

oh. 

"what ' s happening ?" she inquired. mingi sighed heavily. 

"you ' re visiting a nearby village for the day. short notice." he replied , then he muttered , "we ' re going to see some people get murdered." 

haneul ' s eyes widen in shock. "we ' re what ?"

he chuckled softly , shaking his head. "i ' m kidding. she ' s not that cruel."  

she hit him lightly on his shoulder. "don ' t say things like that , it ' s not funny." she huffed. 

"get dressed , or we ' ll be late." mingi leaned off the door frame and walked away , a small smirk on his face. 

her eyes followed him until he disappeared around the corner.  she closed her door and sighed contentedly. oh , how her defender made her heart flutter.