A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 24; Butterfly

After they got inside the stables the soldiers unlocked the metal cases around their feet with some sort of key, harshly yanking them off the horses backs afterwards and dragging them towards the doors leading to the inside of the fortress.

They got separated again, much to Taehyun's dislike, and together with the warrior he was dragged towards some sort of cell. The last glance he got of the prince was right before they turned around the corner. The boy was wet with rainwater and his lashes stuck together and he was roughly being pulled off to somewhere by his wrist. Taehyun was almost sure he saw tears mixing with the raindrops and the angry feeling returned, bubbling in the pit of his stomach and he wanted to rip everyone apart who caused those sad tears.

Once they got pushed into their cell Taehyun discarded the way too large armour of that one soldier, glad the rain didn't soak through it as his clothes were still dry. Yoongi had less luck, being soaked to the bone but he assured the younger he didn't mind. The soldiers grabbed their wrist and tied them together with large cuffs, snickering afterwards and leaving, locking the door behind them.

They now sat together in silence, backs against the wall opposite of the door and just letting the minutes pass by while trying to come up with a new plan. Taehyun was glad there wasn't an annoying clock ticking and reminding them of every painful second.

Suddenly the door was unlocked and opened, and two girls came walking in. They wore shorts and crop tops covered with panther prints and wolf's skin covering their shoulders. Their eyes were dark and framed with thick black eyeliner, their dark hair pushed back from their faces with a few clips. They looked so alike Taehyun was sure they were twins. The girls set the plates they were holding down on the floor at their feet, each of them approaching the two.

"What are they doing?"  Taehyun asked the older. Yoongi cracked his neck from side to side, feeling a bit sore.  "It's an ancient tradition"  He explained as the girls began caressing their clothed chests.  "Last look, last meal. So you know what you're missing once you're dead."

Taehyun frowned and flinched everytime the girl next to him touched him. She had feathers in her hair and braided bracelets around her wrist and yes, he thought she was fairly good looking but he didn't like to be touched by girls so he tried to avoid her fingers as much and as decent as he could.

How dare those soldiers just label him as straight.

The girl next to Yoongi had long lashes, a few paint stripes across her cheek and she looked at him with a hungry gaze, trailing her fingers over his jaw slowly while she braced her other hand on top of his thigh. Her long, sharp nail dug into his skin lightly and it tickled a bit but the warrior just kept his eyes locked on the wall opposite of him, not sparing the girl a single glance as she traced his features.

The girls reached behind their backs at almost the same time and got two silver keys from their belts. They twirled them around their pointer fingers before they stuck them into the locks of the chains keeping their wrists tied together. The cuffs fell the the floor and Taehyun immediately rubbed his sore skin, feeling it burn from how tight the metal had been clasped around his wrist.

The twins winked at them seductively before taking their leave, firmly locking the door back up behind them. Yoongi scooted forwards and reached for the bowl on his plate, lifting it up to his mouth and taking a sip from the white and weird looking soup.

"How can you eat?"  Taehyun asked the older, watching him with a frown. The warrior shrugged, glancing up at the boy.  "I'm hungry."

"They're gonna kill us!"  Taehyun exclaimed, his voice shaking a little with fear.  "It's quite tasty though."  Yoongi responded, taking a bite of the bread.  "You should try it it's actually really-"

"I don't care!"  Taehyun huffed, interrupting him.  "Even if it would be the best food in the world!"  He said as he jumped to his feet, lifting an arm and pointing at himself.  "I'm just a kid! I'm a child, I got my whole life ahead of me, and in less than a day I'll be dead. There are millions of things I'll never get to do now!"

"Like what?"  Yoongi asked, looking up at him as he calmly munched on his food.  "I never even kissed someone."  Taehyun said softly, running his hands through his still damp hair. He plopped back down on the floor next to the warrior and sighed deeply, mind clouding with thoughts.

A small silence settled over the both of them, not lasting for long as the warrior soon decided to break it.  "Me neither."  He said, his eyes holding something Taehyun couldn't really decipher. He slowly adverted his eyes, not knowing what to say to that as the older continued eating.

A sigh left his lips and he opened his mouth to speak.  "You know, I was this close-"  He said and held his pointer finger and thumb up to strengthen his point.  "-before you came in the room. But that's not the point."

Yoongi stopped chewing and his eyes shot up to meet the younger's. He lowered the bowl of soup and set it down, quickly swallowing. His brows furrowed and his voice lowered one or two octaves when he spoke.  "With the prince?! How close?!"  He demanded.

"That's not the point!"  Taehyun said again, not wanting to have the other kill him before he would actually be killed. The warrior sighed and shook his head, attempting to pick the bowl of soup up again but before he could a sound reached his ears. He frowned and looked up at the small window in the wall above them, seeing a butterfly strike down on the stone windowsill. It was purple flowing over into orange, wings framed with a dark blue, navy color and dotted with red all over.

Yoongi scrambled to his feet, having no idea why but he felt a strange pull towards the winged animal. He approached the window and cocked his head to the side. The butterfly flapped its wings and made a few noises and the warrior nodded, placing his hand by his mouth and whispering something back. After he did he muttered for the animal to go, waving his hands a bit too and as if it understood what he was saying it turned around and flew away.

"What was that?"  Taehyun asked as he watched the older sit back down against the wall. Yoongi blinked and grabbed the bowl to continue eating.  "A butterfly."

"You spoke to a butterfly?"  The younger asked him then, raising an eyebrow and scoffing. The warrior blinked, it only just settling in his mind.  "Apparently."

"And it understood you?"  He asked. The older looked at the window and swallowed the soup.  "Hopefully."