Seven Wings of the Damned (BTS)

Thirty One- Find The Prince

(Jungkook's POV)

I woke up to the gentle feeling of something cool moving across my forehead. I felt my dream slipping from my grasp. It was a nice dream. My mother and I sat outside in the grass planting new flowers in the garden boxes. I opened my eyes slowly to see Jin sitting above me dabbing my head with a wet rag. From this angle, his features looked so gentle. His cotton candy pink hair looked so faded underneath the dim light. His pale skin made him look soft. His eyes twinkled with concern, but quickly his concern changed to relief.

He smiled down at me. "Thank God you're okay. We thought you'd never wake up."

"What happened?" I asked tiredly. I couldn't remember. What time was it? My head throbbed and I felt kind of chilly. My back was soaked in sweat. My palms felt sore like I'd been scratching them raw while I was asleep. I used to behave like this when I was young. It was part of my night terrors. But, why was I doing this when I was having a good dream?

"You passed out after reading that letter. None of us have been able to leave this house since. We've all been so worried. You've been out for eight hours."

Then, I remembered it all. I remembered the letter and what it said. The feeling I had reading it. I remembered everything. I felt my body fill with dread once again. What have I done? My poor mother. All she was trying to do was protect me and I had to go be foolish all over a bit of stupid curiosity.

All I could do now was hope my mother was okay.

I sat up and looked at Jin. "My mom is in trouble," I admitted. "I need to get back and find her."

He looked at me surprised for a moment, and then saddened. "Did the letter say anything else?" he asked more gently.

Before I could respond, the door opened and Taehyung walked in. "Jin, how's he holdin-" he saw me and immediately came to me. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I feel worried. And scared," I confessed. It felt like a weight crushed me now. I was responsible for this. I know I was. I had to be.

Taehyung looked back to Jin. "Why? What's wrong? Is this about the letter?"

"Jinnie! Where did you put the hot cocoa?!"

Jin got up and left the room to answer Namjoon's call.

"My mother is in trouble," I stated.

"Is that what the letter said?"

"No. But, I can tell."

"How?"

"Because, whenever my mother writes a letter to me, she always says I love you at the end. In this one, she didn't. And she ended the letter with "Be safe" and safe wasn't fully spelled out," I explained.

"What else did it say?" he pulled the letter out and handed it to me. "Can you read it to me?"

I looked at him. But, should I tell him the part about the prince? Arian told me the same thing. Find the prince. And only tell the prince. But, what if he is the prince? He's the only prince I know. I should tell him. What would the consequences be of telling him anyway if he was the wrong prince? Does he even know about Arian's race? He did mention that they were a lost race. Maybe he didn't believe they could still exist.

I nodded and picked up the letter. I read it to him word for word. Not leaving a single thing out. Afterwards, he sat there in silence, pondering on what that could've meant.

"Find the prince," he stated. "She must've been talking about me, right? You said she worked for my father. It has to be me. But, why me?" he looked down. "I don't know you. Unless, I do, and I just can't seem to recall it."

"Well, she did say there is a secret. And whatever it is, your father must know about it," I explained. "And he must really not like it."

"Mm. My father doesn't like a lot of things. But, if he knows about it. That could be a very good explanation as to why you were sent here."

"But, I remember that day. He was friendly to me. He took me into the palace and introduced me to so many new things. He treated me like his own-"

"His own son?" Taehyung interrupted me.

I looked up at him surprised. It was odd. I never had a father. I never knew what it felt like to have a father. But, the way he treated me, that felt like what it would've been if I did have a father. He treated me like he knew me. Like he was so interested in everything I had to say. Like it was the highlight of his day to hear me.

I nodded shyly. He wasn't my father. He was Taehyung's. Something in me felt a bit guilty for feeling like I could see Tae's father that way. It wasn't right.

Taehyung looked me up and down. Then, he leaned in. "Tell me everything that happened that day."