SEMI-HIATUS|BTS x Reader Wonderland AU: The World of Wonderland

8. Into the Woods

The mysterious woods are catching up to your little group.  Hahaha!  Just kidding.  As always, enjoy this next chapter!

At the time, it seemed heroic to be heading off into the woods after the house was bombed.  Now, 5 hours later?  Your feet hurt from walking, and branches kept snapping into your face.  You nearly twisted your ankle when you tripped over a gnarled root that had crept across the path.

The other members didn't really care, they just kept walking in their single file line with RM leading the way.

While you were walking, you watched as the sun traveled through the sky.  Since you had eaten little nourishment besides breakfast, you could feel the lack of energy catching up to you.  When the sun had begun to set, you were practically begging whatever type of fates out there to let you rest.

Coincidentally, RM stopped a few seconds after you had become dejected from your prayer not coming through.

"Let's camp here for the night," he declared.  A sigh of exhaustion left your lips as everyone started setting up their tents.

As you went over to your designated area to erect your tent, you suddenly remembered that you didn't know how to put one up.  Your stubborn attitude getting the better of you, you began to struggle with the poles and fabric, your hands slipping every now and then.

Frustrated by the fact that you didn't pay more attention in survival class, and that your pride was preventing you from asking for help, the hand that came to rest on your shoulder scared you.  Jumping a couple feet in the air, you turned around to see who was coming to laugh at you.

Jungkook stared back at you, and with a careful tone, he asked, "Need some help?"  You almost laughed.  Why would anyone want to help you? After observing this thought, you nodded slowly, almost reluctant and too embarrassed to admit you needed help.

Jungkook guided your hands through the steps.  About halfway through them, he somehow got closer to you without you knowing.  Your back was soon pressed into his chest, and although you were still focused on the job at hand, it felt like a small jolt of electricity was shooting in between the places your bodies touched.  By the end of his tutorial, a blush had made its way onto your cheeks.

You both got up, and looking at you, he laughed before teasing, "Your cheeks are red."

The blush getting a little bit redder, you replied bitterly, "I just got a sunburn."

"Sure." He shook his head, a smile on his face and hands on his hips, and then lumbered back on over to his tent.

Still shaken by the experience, you crawled into your tent and took out The Princess Bride from your pack and started to read from where you and Jimin left off:

"Fool!" cried the hunchback. "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders.  The most famous is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.'"

He was quite cheery until the iocane powder took effect.

The man in black stepped quickly over the corpse, then roughly ripped the blindfold from the Princess's eyes.

"Y/N, it's time to eat," yelled one of the men.  Feeling a little bit better after reading about Vizzini's death for the hundredth time, you closed the book and went outside, grabbing some dry food in a package on the way out.

The group was sitting on logs in a circle, munching on the fruit, nuts, and jerky they had brought with them.  Opening your package, you took a seat next to Jungkook.

"Where are we going to be headed during the next few days?" you inquired, curious as to how they were going to fight the rebels.

RM started to launch into a full-blown lecture, similar to the other ones he had told you in the last couple days.  It seemed he was prone to them.

"We're going to be meeting Jin, the King of Hearts, at the Wondronia Grounds.  From there we're going to be heading in the opposite direction through the Volcanic Plains and into the Everlasting Forest.  We'll be sneaking past the Alyssian Headquarters, and cross into Unterlan.  Many tribes live there, but most of them are unfriendly, to both sides of the war, and keep to themselves.  Once we pass through there, then we'll be going into Boarderland, where the majority of the rebels have gathered.  We'll go through the Swampy Woods of Chance and past the Doomsine Tribe, whom the rebels have allied themselves with.  Their base is set up near the Glyph Cliffs, which is where we'll attack.  Y/N, remember the terrain?"

You gave a small nod, and recited, "High up and running along the coast, fairly flat, and swordsmen and cavalry advantage."

RM gave you a look that told you he was proud, before resuming to his speech.

"By then, we'll assume that Y/N has already unlocked her power to help us, and we'll have Jin's army (HA, see what I did there) as backup."

The first part of his sentence halted you in your tracks.  Wait a minute.  Power?

"Hold on a second," you shouted in alarm, "I didn't sign up to get powers.  What if I don't have any by the time we reach the cliffs?"

RM bowed his head in response.  "Don't worry.  We have a contingency plan in case you aren't able to help us.  But it would be nice to have you fighting with us, because the rebels' sheer numbers are already more than us seven can handle."

"No pressure or anything," you said under your breath, frightened at the thought of not being able to help them and getting some weird powers.

"Now that this horrible business is over, how about we play a game before night hits?" J-Hope exclaimed.  Everyone cheered.  Intrigued by what this game would be, you leaned closer as J-Hope began to explain.

"In this game, everybody sits in a circle.  One person comes up with a phrase to say, and then whispers it to the person on their right or left.  Then that person has to do the same thing to the next person.  And so on and so on.  Until it comes to the last person, and then that person has to say what they heard."  Turning to you, he whispered conspiratorially, "We call it Communication."

Ready to laugh, you were in awe.  Back home, you played a game exactly like this called Telephone.

Everyone decided Jungkook would start.  After being deep in thought for 30 seconds or so, he turned to Jimin and whispered it in his ear.  Jimin's brows furrowed in confusion for a second, before understanding dawning on him.  He then told Suga, who told RM, who told J-Hope, who told V, who told you.

As you were the last person, you stood up and shakily announced, "Y/N is the beast and shell pineapple us from the economic rats."  An explosion of quiet laughter rang out in the clearing, mostly everyone holding their stomachs and laughing like there was no tomorrow; especially Jungkook, who was rolling on the floor.

Lifting himself up off the ground, he chuckled and said, "Close.  It was 'Y/N is the best and she'll protect us from the evil rebels.'  That turned out as a mess."

The laughter died down in the next few minutes, and soon RM was announcing lights out.  Going back over to your tent, you went inside and snuggled into your sleeping bag.  Sleep seemed within reach at this point, and just before drifting off into the waves of dreams, you realized you might have some friends in this world after all.

Yay, progress was made, and the King will soon join this motley crew.  Will Y/N develop powers?  Will she make it through the night?  The rebels are getting bolder.  They could come for you.  As always, leave a comment down below and give me your feedback!