Beauty and the Beast • Namjin AU

Chapter Seven

When they were quite deep in the forest, away from the castle, Seokjin gave Odeng a break. The horse had been running the whole time and Seokjin noticed that Odeng was becoming tired. The young man let Odeng stand still and then he hopped off his back. Seokjin grabbed the reins and led Odeng to a tree, getting off the path. He went to tie the reins around the tree, but stopped in the middle of the process. A growl had interrupted him and he immediatly turned around to see four wolves snarling at him and Odeng, showing their teeth and ready to attack. Seokjin's eyes widened and he looked around him to find something to defend himself with. He saw a long tree branch lying in the snow and Seokjin immediatly picked it up, turning towards the four wolves with his improvised weapon. The biggest wolf in the middle attacked first, running towards Seokjin and Odeng, but Seokjin was prepared. He swung the branch towards the wolf, who let out a yelp and rolled on the snow-covered ground. The other three wolves had also began to attack the boy and his horse. Odeng whimpered in pain when a wolf was attacking him, and Seokjin wanted to help his horse, but the other three wolves had surrounded him. When one of them jumped forwards, trying to bite Seokjin's leg, the black-haired boy didn't hesitate and kicked the white wolf hard against his skull, causing the wild animal to stumble back. Seokjin swung the branch towards the wolf which was attacking Odeng, making him turn towards Seokjin instead of the horse. Seokjin swung the branch towards the other two wolves on his right again while keeping an eye on the big wolf on his left. When he swung his improvised weapon towards the big wolf, it grabbed a hold of it with his strong jaws and pulled it out of Seokjin's hands, breaking the tree branch in half. Seokjin couldn't defend himself anymore and when the biggest wolf jumped towards him, he screamed in pure fear. But the wolf didn't even touch him, making Seokjin look up in suprise. He saw the beast fighting the wolves back, attacking them and biting them, only to get attacked back. He threw the biggest wolf away, but the wild animal immediatly stood up and jumped towards the beast again, biting his arm. The beast let out a loud and angy roar, scaring the four wolves who immediatly ran away, scared and intimidated by the beast. Seokjin held his breath when the beast turned his head to look at the black-haired boy and then fainted, falling down on the snow-covered ground. Seokjin grabbed Odeng's reins and wanted to hop on the horse, leaving the beast alone. But he stopped his actions when he heard a soft and painful whimper, coming from the beast himself. Seokjin saw the beast shivering on the ground, both from the cold and the pain. Seokjin bit his bottom lip and patted Odeng on the neck, and then he walked over to the beast. He saw the bleeding wounds and teeth marks the wolves had made on the body of the beast, making Seokjin feel bad for the creature. After all, the beast had saved Seokjin's life. The black-haired male took off his red cloak, knelt down by the beast and laid it on the creature. ''You have to help me.'' Seokjin whispered with a soft voice to the beast who weakly looked at him. ''You have to stand, please.'' The young male then asked him, faintly smiling at the beast.

...

A roar was heard in the whole castle and Seokjin shook his head in annoyance while he sat up straight. ''Ow! That hurts!'' The beast yelled and held his wounded arm away from Seokjin who had put a cloth soaked in water on the biggest wound. ''If you held still, it wouldn't hurt as much.'' Seokjin snapped back to the beast who looked at him with an irritated stare. ''All of this wouldn't have happened if you didn't run away.'' The beast said and Seokjin rolled his eyes. ''If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have ran away.'' The young male answered to the beast who huffed. ''Well, you shouldn't have been in the west wing!'' The beast responded. ''Well, you should control your temper!'' The black-haired male raised his voice and the beast avoided Seokjin's stare, knowing that Seokjin was right. Seokjin stood up and put the cloth back in the bucket filled with water. ''Get some rest.'' He said to the beast who laid on his side in the bed. Seokjin grabbed the handle of the bucket and walked away from the bed. He stood still by the door where the servants were looking at him and the beast. ''Thank you, dear boy.'' Taehyung said to Seokjin who nodded with his head. '''We are eternally grateful. We've looked after him all his life.'' Hoseok added. Seokjin let out a deep sigh and looked at the servants. ''But he's cursed all of you somehow, why exactly?'' The black-haired male asked them.
Suprisingly, Yoongi was the first one to speak. ''Master wasn't always like this. His cruel father had shaped him into the cold person he is today. The king twisted his sweet son up to be just as horrible as him.'' The clock answered and Seokjin furrowed his brows. ''We did nothing.'' Jimin said, hovering just above the ground with the help of his white-feathered wings. ''I didn't know that.'' Seokjin answered and the servants smiled faintly. ''Well, now you do.'' Jungkook said, standing close to Taehyung. ''Thank you again, Seokjin.'' Hoseok said to the male and then the servants left the west wing. Seokjin looked at the beast who was already asleep and the young man felt something he didn't feel before. Sorrow. He felt bad for the beast, now that he knew the backstory behind this all and that the beast was a kind prince at first. It was the fault of the king, the cruel king who had made the prince just as cruel as him. Seokjin turned around and walked out of the west wing, quietly closing the door behind him.