A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 15; The gate

They arrived at the mountain range which had previously been at the horizon a few hours after, and Taehyun was pretty much used to the cold demeanor of the warrior now. He figured he was just like that and it was a good personality to have if you were a protector of the royal family. He figured it was also because of what happened in his past, but he tried not to think too much about it, just pushing the thought to the back of his mind and not wanting to bring it up again for the sake of them both.

"What does it say?" Taehyun asked as they walked up to the gate standing there, characters drawn onto it with a vibrant paint. They left the horses at a small village they saw on the way not far from here and Yoongi knew some people there who would take care of them and bring them back to the wizard's cottage when they had rest and eaten.

"Do not enter." The warrior replied after a quick glance as he stepped over the path, the stones partly broken and cracks all over them. It was clear a fight had happened here in the past. Taehyun huffed as he pulled the straps of the shield better onto his shoulder and made sure none of the arrows would fall out the holder. He thought it would be easier to carry it on his back instead of having his arms occupied all the time so he had asked the warrior about it and apparently they both had straps attached to them. He had been annoyed that older hadn't said anything about that sooner because sure, why not let him suffer first.

The gate was not that big and the walls which were supposed to be attached to it were crumbled down and broken, stones scattered all over the grass around it. There was not much left of the fort what had stood there once.

"Well what's behind it?" Taehyun asked him then, curiosity blooming in his veins. "The Unknown Lands." Yoongi answered, not saying much more than he needed.

The boy sighed. "And what's in the Unknown Lands?"

"Unknown things." Yoongi snickered, glancing over at him as if the answer was obvious. Taehyun frowned and held a hand out, stopping him from walking any further and turning to face the older. "Wait- you are just taking me with you until the wizard has the wood, right? Then you'll drop me off at his cottage, right?" He asked, suddenly anxious and in the need of confirmation.

The warrior blinked a few times. "Wrong." He then said and reached for his pocket.

"Okay I really think we should figure out a way for me to get home." Taehyun whined, his homesickness creeping up once again. He had never been away from home longer than a day and it was starting to eat away at him now he was in a whole other world.

"So do I. I was hoping for someone who could fight, but so far you've shown me nothing." Yoongi sighed and pressed a cloth in his hand. Taehyun looked down to it and frowned. "What's this?"

"A map. It will take you to the wizard." Yoongi replied as the younger traced his finger over the material, feeling where the pencils had drawn out the land and names of certain places. He didn't know what it said though and that frustrated him because - did no one know the right way to write here?

"I-I can't read this," He stuttered out. "I just wanna go home and you're not really helping me."

Yoongi sighed again and stepped forward, reaching behind the boy's head to grab two of the arrows from the holder he carried on his back. "I gave you a map." The warrior said and set the arrows on the bow in his hands with a soft thud. He took a step towards the gate, brushing past the boy.

Taehyun scoffed and reached his hand out before stepping in front of him again, blocking his path. "Yeah, but what you mean is basically just get lost Taehyun. Huh? I brought you here against your will and now that you're not what I expected you to be, you're not my problem." He ranted, throwing his hands up and furrowing his eyebrows.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Wrong on number one. I didn't bring you here against your will. No on told you to jump into the basket, that was all on you. Right on number two. You are not my problem. My problem, is to get through the Unknown Lands, get past Rowoon's army, past his personal guard while not getting shot by his tower guards, find the prince, get past the tower reinforcements, past the personal guard reinforcements, kill Rowoon, and then bring the prince back towards his place so he can be crowned to emperor and save the country." Yoongi named up in two short breaths. "That is my problem."

Right after he finished talking he set his jaw and concentrated, lifting the bow and pulling the string back. The boy yelped and he took a few steps back, quickly ducking when the warrior fired the bow. The two arrows soared through the sky with a fast speed and each of them went through a small slit in the stones on top of the gate, successfully taking down the two men who stood there. Taehyun looked back with wide eyes and saw the men falling down onto the grass, their bodies now nothing more than corpses. He hadn't even realised there were two guards standing on top of the gate.

When he looked back Yoongi was walking towards him, bow lowered and expression yet again unreadable.

"So you're saying I don't have a choice?" He softly asked the older. The warrior glared at him. "You do have a choice. Save yourself, or save him." He said and pushed the bow into his hands before he brushed past him, bumping their shoulders together as he walked towards the gate.

Taehyun looked down at the bow in his hands and sighed, inhaling deeply. "I can't save a prince!" He yelled after the warrior, turning around to see the black haired male walking. Without looking back the man responded. "You're the Black Knight!"

Taehyung nodded a few times and pouted. "Ah yeah, I almost forgot." He sighed sarcastically and quickly followed the older.

—x—

A man dressed in brown thick clothing and a wolf's fur around his shoulders rushed up to the large tent of the king, an owl sitting calmly on his arm with a small necklace made of rope around its neck.

"Your Highness." He started once he entered the tent, and reached for the paper attached to the owl's necklace before handing it to the girl, who proceeded to hand it to the seated man. "Good news."

Rowoon took the small roll of paper from her dainty hands and shook his head assuringly. "Don't be nervous, I'm having a good day today. I have a good feeling about this." He told the man, looking back at Chanhee at his side before opening it.

"That's good, sire." The man smiled, and reached his arm up to pet his owl, the animal lightly shuddering under his touch, making a noice of approval. "I'm sure it's good news."

Rowoon raised an eyebrow and looked down at the paper, the same weird symbols on it as the last paper he had received but this time in a different order. Chanhee shifted his weight on his feet as he took a peek at the paper. The king poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and raised an eyebrow.

"Bad news." He announced. The man started to sputter and his eyes went wide and worried but Rowoon just ignored that and continued talking. "Warrior Yoongi is unfindable."

He looked to his side and curtly nodded to Chanhee, who nodded back. Fright broke out all over the man's face as he feared for his precious life but- the soldier didn't move a muscle. The king called his name and nodded again, hoping to get the point across while the man shook his head, owl mimicking his master's movements.

Rowoon sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Chanhee." He groaned, looking up at the soldier. "Remember the signal?"

"Signal?" The soldier frowned, completely confused. Rowoon groaned and pointed at the man, now fully turning his body to the soldier. "Kill him!" He growled, watching as Chanhee's eyes went wide and he quickly pulled his sword, yelling as he thrusted it into the man's stomach. The man whimpered and the owl flapped its wings as the life got slowly pulled from his body before he fell down to the ground.