Under Noirwood | Vminkook ✓

Eight: The Crypt

A/N: Hello :)

So I started college...

And most of my classes are really boring.

But I have lots of time in between them to write, I'm really excited about that! 

Anyway, I hope all of you who have gone back to school are coping well. 

Love you all! :)

~ izzy ~

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"What!? You CAN'T BE SERIOUS! There's no way you're going down into the crypts after finding out about the risks! Jungkook, you can't, can't do this. You'll regret it later if you don't listen to me now...What will I do if you don't return...WHAT will Rose do? Don't you dare, Kook-"

The Oak Prince turned at the sudden pressure to his knee.

"I have to do this!" Jungkook sounded overly defensive, as if he was desperate not to be swayed out of going to the crypts. "Don't tell me otherwise!"

Florian's hand lifted off of Jungkook's knee. His breath was calm, but the ravenette could tell the Stone Prince was a bit anxious. The brunette gazed outside the moving carriage as he placed his hand back in his lap. Wren sat stone-faced beside the two princes, bouncing his foot against the wooden shell of the exterior of the carriage. The soft clopping of horse hooves on grass paths almost overshadowed Florian's defeated voice.

"I wasn't telling you anything, Jungkook. Were you thinking about Taehyung again?"

A light flush crept up the Oak Prince's neck, but not because he was embarrassed. He felt a bit irked that he was so readable. Was every feeling painted so crystal clear on his face for others to behold? It made him angry that he couldn't hide what was bothering him at any given moment. Sometimes he felt envious of Jimin's ability to push his emotions deep down into a chamber...

But he shouldn't be thinking of Jimin.

"Taehyung--I can hear exactly what he'd be yelling right now..." the ravenette laughed slightly to loosen the tension in the carriage, but his heart wasn't in it.

Florian laughed too, but it was fluttering, airy. Wren gave them both a questioning look; they were, after all, going on a terribly dangerous mission that wasn't particularly laughing material. The Stone Prince fingered the edges of his chain mail as his chuckles died down, but said nothing else until they arrived.

And when the carriage pulled up along a beaten path cutting through a charred field, Jungkook knew there was no going back.

Three men clad in heavy armor exited the carriage with quickly beating hearts. No birds chirped. No animals skittered across the blackened earth. Ash plumes swirled around restlessly among forgotten tree stumps when gusts of wind pushed throughout the land. The Oak Prince cringed as he stepped out into the dead zone with cold hands.

Florian was at his side almost instantly. "Okay. Prince Jeon, Wren, remember the plan we went over. The soldiers go in for thirty minutes, flush out the threat, give us the 'all clear.' Then we go in, map out the interior the best we can with Wren as guide. I'll be taking notes and trying to record what types of bodies we come across. Also, I need to track what kinds of traps are found down there--how frequently they appear-"

"Okay, Flor. Getting a bit too-"

"Yeah," Florian absentmindedly kicked at a rock nearby. "I'll stop now. Got your fancy time piece on you, Kook?"

Wren watched as the ravenette nodded, pulling out his pocket watch. In the dreary atmosphere of the hopeless fields, Jungkook's silver pocket watch gleamed brightly in the morning sun. It felt warm in the Oak Prince's palm as he held it out to the pair, watching as a bit of hope melted into them like soft butter at seeing the beautiful object.