𝕭𝕿𝕾 𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖘

Taehyung - City of the Dead

This is inspired by City of the Dead by Eurielle.

You stumble your way to the gates that block the tunnel from here to there. You need to get there as soon as possible. You're dying. Going there won't save you. You just want to be able to see him one last time before you go.

Your breathing is a bit labored as you stared up at the wrought iron gates. Cold metal separates you and where you want to go. You push open the gates and go through. Taking a few steps you turn and see the gates close behind you. No going back now. Not like there ever was in the first place. Also it's not like you really wanted to either. Either way you'll end up going there one day.

You walk down the tunnel, the white light from behind you fading to red as you get closer to there. The City of the Dead. You get to the end of the tunnel and see another gate identical to the one you entered. You go through it and look ahead of you. Everything here is opposite. Orange sky instead of blue. Red trees instead of green. Black clouds instead of white. It's still just as beautiful though.

From where you stand you can see the buildings that hold the Graces who watch over the souls that enter here daily. One building in particular standing out. The Judgment Hall. It looks almost like a castle really. You could actually call it the home of the King who is also the Judge.

You make your way to that place. Most people would want to avoid going there. The name of the building is self explanatory. That is where souls go to be Judged. Some of the Graces keep watch and make sure no one tries to escape judgment. Others are sent to the Land of the Living to collect souls who are lost or hiding. You are one of the latter.

Graces are spirits chosen in the Land of the Living or at Judgment by the King to guide souls to this place. Graces are spirits who lived their lives neutrally. Not good but not bad. They are the grey area in between. They are the perfect spirits to help Judge.

You enter the Hall, making your way around the group of souls, and watch the current Judging. A man is on his knees, his chest rising and falling quickly due to his rapid breathing. He's terrified. One look at his aura and you can already tell where he will be going.

The Judge looks down at him from his throne with extreme and unmasked disinterest. The Judge doesn't care for souls like the one in front of him now. As predicted the man is sent to his punishment for crimes committed while he was living. The man begged for forgiveness as a Grace made him stand and led him to a door on the left of the Judge.

Some souls were led to a door on the right where they are rewarded for good deeds while living. Some to the left where they are to be punished. You smiled as a young soul was sent to the right. After a while the Hall was emptied, today's Judging over with.

You stayed quietly in the corner while watching. You mainly wanted to hide the fears that were swirling through your mind. You didn't want to die. Not yet. Not before you could even tell the one you cared for that you loved him. Problem was you felt like there was no way he would feel the same so you stayed as his quiet friend and loyal Grace.

The Judge sighed as he stood and stretched. He looked around and thanked the Graces for their work today. When he spotted you his face brightened with a big box smile and he immediately walked to you. He pulled you into a hug and you smiled back.

"Y/n! What are you doing here?" He asked.

"What? Not happy to see me your majesty?" You joked.

"Of course I'm happy to see you! And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tae?"

You chuckled and lightly shook your head. "It's against the King's Rules."

"I'm the King aren't I? I can change the rules. And my new rule is that you call me Tae."

"Your majes-" He cut you of with a small pout and a please. You sighed. You could never say no to that look and he knew it. "Fine."

"Yay!" He cheered. You smiled at his cuteness. He could be so mature and intimidating one minute and childlike the next. You remember all of the times he convinced you to play a game with him after the Judging was over. Almost like right now but instead of playing he asked you to join him on a walk.

"This is so nice!" He said as you walked through the gardens. "We haven't walked together for years Y/n!"

You hum in response. Are you even walking? It doesn't feel like it. You know your legs are moving but you can't feel it. It appears you're already starting to go numb. You can feel the poison tingling throughout your body. You couldn't tell if it was from the poison or the fear that your chest felt tight and your breaths were more labored than normal.

You do your best to hide it from Tae. You only want to see him smile while with you. Not looking at you with sad eyes because there is nothing you can do for a poisoned essence. You don't really know how it happened but you assumed it was from an evil soul who didn't want to come to the city. A revenge of sorts.

A poisoned essence guarantees eternal death. No chance for forgiveness or rebirth. Just nothingness forever. There is no known cure because it's so rare. You've only ever heard of it, never thinking you'd ever see it let alone experience it.

The whole time you're walking with Tae you feel yourself slowly getting weaker. You listen to him ramble about whatever came to his mind as you reminisced about your time with him. You feel your face become warm from fever and you get a bit dizzy.

"Tae? Can we sit down for a minute?" You ask. He nods and you sit on the edge of a nearby fountain. You smile as you watch the water flow. "You know this fountain reminds me of you."

He tilts his head at you. "How?"

You look at him, the small smile still present on your face. "The fountain is a source refreshment. You're like that in a way. You're a source of piety. You're loved by the Graces because you give us a purpose. Without you we would be wandering souls, lost for eternity."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

He seems a bit disappointed by your answer. "Do you only love me because I made you a Grace?"

"No. I love you in more ways than that. I love you because you're my King, my Judge, my friend."

He looks down at his hands that rest in his lap. "What if you could love me more than that? More than your superior and your friend. What if you could love me as an equal?"

"Tae I don't understand." Your mind was slowly beginning to fog. You felt like he was trying to tell you something but you couldn't understand it.

"Y/n I want you to see me as more than just your King and Judge."

"What are you saying?" He's never spoken so seriously like this with you before. It almost sounded like a confession and some part of you was hoping that it was.

He lifted his head and looked at you with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes. "Y/n. I love you. I love you more than as my Grace and friend. Infinitely more than that."

Your eyes widened with shock. "You love me?"

He nodded. "Always have since I first saw you. For centuries you've been by my side for everything. You always comfort me after I have a difficult Judging. No matter what you're doing, even if you're in the Land of the Living, you're always there for me."

You couldn't think of anything to say but you didn't have to. Tae took one of your hands in his and gave you a small smile. "Even if you don't love me the same would you be my Queen and let me repay you for everything by loving you?"

You smile. "Yes. I'll be your Queen. I love you too Tae." His eyes light up and you forget for a moment that you're sick. You forget that you won't be able to be his Queen for long. You forget until you feel a sharp pain in your chest. You gasp and clench your shirt over your heart.

"Y/n? What's wrong?" Tae asks worried.

You can't answer as your chest becomes tight and black stars cloud your vision before everything goes dark. You begin to fall but Tae catches you. Your eyes are closed and you look almost dead. Your shirt moves and he sees the mark of the poison on your skin above your heart. He lightly touches the mark and your eyes open slightly.

"You have a poisoned essence? Why didn't you tell me?"

You give him a tiny apologetic smile. "I didn't want you to be sad. No one survives this."

He smiles back at you. "Silly Grace. I told didn't I? I make the rules. I choose who survives it. And you will."

He leans down and presses his lips to yours. In an instant you feel the poison leaving you. But you don't really feel the relief of the weight being lifted off of your heavy limbs or the pressure removed from your lungs. No.

You feel his strong arms holding you close to him and the small smirk that makes it's way into his kiss when you run your fingers through his hair. You feel the centuries of love you both gave and the love you both still have yet to give.

He pulled away and smiled at you. "Feeling better my Queen?"

You lightly giggled. "Much better."

A/n

Finally! It's done! I don't know why but I'm having trouble getting the stories out. Anyways thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! And also you can ask for a story if you want. I'm open to anything. I purple you!