Black Swan

ACT II

The wind rushed past Taehyung. It pushed his hair back and tugged at his clothes. His wings were drawn against his body, accumulating momentum.

He opened his eyes. The ocean was a gigantic, foam-streaked wall he was about to slam into. A thrill ran through his body – it was an exhilarating feeling that made his stomach flip, that blew all thoughts away from his mind.

At the last second, when all he could hear were the crashing waves, he extended his wings, which were twice the length of his body, to their full span. He angled his wings; the shift changed his course, and soon he was soaring right above the ocean.

He stretched his free arm beneath him. The cool, undulating water licked his fingers playfully, and left foamy trails in their wake. Taehyung glanced behind him. Jimin and Jungkook were rapidly closing in on him.

Mirth resonated in his throat. He angled upwards, his wings beating rhythmically as he gained altitude. He ascended, the feeling of freedom filling up his mind to the brim, until the Royal Palace looked no greater than a dollhouse. He then slowed down and waited for the other two to catch up.

To avoid detection, the three of them flew high enough that they could be mistaken for birds. Given that the sun had just set, the capital was still plunged in semi-darkness. They skirted the city walls, far enough that the watchguards resembled ants patrolling the battlements. Beyond the capital city were farms and fields that lined the main road for several miles. In the dimming light, the fields resembled uneven, clumsily sketched stripes painted in various shades of green. They were flying just above a bed of peach-hued clouds.

“Mother dearest wants to marry you off so soon,” said Jimin in a teasing voice, finally breaking the silence between the three young men. Taehyung shot him a sideways glance. Against his will, the Queen’s parting words trotted back into his memory.

Tomorrow evening at the royal ball, he would have to choose a prospective consort among six princesses invited by the Queen.

"Word goes around among the knights," Jungkook was now saying, "that the princesses from neighboring kingdoms are all pure, gentle, smart, skilled in art, music, literature, and – of course – magic. There’s at least one among them whom you might like, right?"

“Who knows?” mumbled Taehyung. “There’s at least one among them whom my mother might like indeed.”

“Didn’t she say you could choose?” said Jimin, his eyebrows raised. “Or does she get the last say either way?”

“I wouldn’t even get the last say in what color of socks to wear to my own wedding.”

Jimin stifled a laugh at Taehyung’s reply.

"Ah!” exclaimed Jungkook. “There's the forest."

The last farmhouse was a mere dot behind them, and the vast forest, like an emerald blanket laid over the mountain range surrounding the capital like a shield, came into view. They glimpsed the flock of swans disappear through a gap between the mountains. The gap was a few miles to the left of the mountain pass used by convoys to travel to other parts of the kingdom.

"It'd be better to just return," said Jimin, raising his voice so he would be heard over the whooshing wind. They had just flown beyond the gap. At the feet of the mountains, a sea of mist rolled over the trees; further ahead, valleys and hills formed an eerie scenery of islets emerging from the folds of the shifting, ghostly currents.

"This region is uncharted territory," Jimin was now saying, almost shouting. "A few swans aren’t worth getting lost and possibly eaten by whatever creatures lurk in there …"