#faraway smile on his face as he runs his fingertips over the puckered

[seijorhi]

i keep thinking about scion! oikawa, where if, in the ensuing cat and mouse, the reader manages to get the drop on him and injure him in some way, he'd be so fucking weird about the scar.

because in the end, oikawa wants everything you have to give him. all that anger, the rage, the passion and your violence. it's a piece of him that now belongs to you – and oh, he hopes it never fades.

[arcadeguk]

a little more love

prompt: “be you. no one else can.”

pairing: jeongguk x reader

genre: mind-numbing, cavity inducing fluff, jeongguk being a sweetheart what else is new

a/n: the literal first thing i’ve ever written and posted. be gentle with my inexperienced terRIFIED heart thank you uwu

11:34pm. exhausted doesn’t begin to cover the feeling jeongguk has right now. he’s beyond exhausted, he’s convinced no being on any planet ever has experienced this kind of tiredness. a recording session at the break of dawn followed by 8 hours of dance practice whipped his ass incredibly well, so incredibly well that by hour 7, he just laid down on the studio floor, hoping that if he closed his eyes and stayed still hoseok would just assume he was dead roadkill, and leave him alone. however, much to jeongguk’s delight, hoseok’s chirpy “5,6,7,8!” echoes through the room, bouncing off the thick white walls, and reverberating in jeongguk’s eardrums. he feels a level 6 migraine on the horizon, and he debates for just a moment that if he rips out his own esophagus out maybe he can go home early.

go home to you. 

“home” the word sounds good in jeongguk’s head, and tastes even better on his tongue, especially when he thinks of nothing else. “home, you, home, you, home…” plays on a loop in jeongguk’s head, until it’s the only thing he’s certain of. he’s most definitely not certain of these steps, of the beat pounding under his feet, or the insane body-roll-two-step-mix that jimin just did, who’s desperately trying to add flavor to the choreography.

the manager on duty calls out “alright, that’s all for tonight!”, and jeongguk nearly ducks, convinced that this moment could only come if the heavens had opened up and rained down on him. to his credit, jeongguk manages to get his bag, jacket, and somehow convinces hoseok for a ride to your place. however, he doesn’t remember a second of it. one minute, he’s under blinding fluorescent lights, and the next he’s walking into the warmth of your apartment.

jeongguk closes the door behind him, much gentler than his usual grandeur entrance. in his fuzzy and faraway mind, jeongguk is dimly aware of the fact that it’s late and that your apartment is bathed in darkness. it smells like the rose candles you always burn, and the tinge of takeout food long devoured. jeongguk slips off his shoes in the hall, drops his keys in the bowl, and discards his jacket and bag, somewhere where someone will most likely trip on it. he makes his way to the living room, checking to see if you had retired to your normal nap location, lumbering around and letting out a soft “shit” when his knee bumps the coffee table. the softness of the carpet under his sore and overworked socked feet threaten to turn his spine to liquid, and he makes the cardinal sin of rolling his shoulders, letting his head dip into his chest for just a beat too long, and he wishes he could just sleep. but the familiar voice in the back of his mind reminds him of you, and suddenly, he’s a man with renewed strength. jeongguk tiptoes to the bedroom, hand planted on the doorknob as he mentally plans how he’s going to dive into the bed. but as he opens the door, he frowns when he sees all the lights on, hears the dull, tinny sound of music being blared through headphones, and the source of that strong takeout smell he sniffed out earlier.

there you are, sitting cross-legged in the middle of your shared bed. white duvet covers have long disappeared under the avalanche of papers and packets that have since covered it. your laptop is in front of you, blue light illuminating your face in all the best ways. jeongguk slowly smiles, and walks over to you, quicker than he’s moved all day.

jeongguk sits on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, slightly shifting your chaos of papers. you seem to pay no attention, barely aware of his presence. lips parted ever so slightly, eyes red and brows furrowed together, tongue forming a sailor-worthy curse to throw at microsoft word. jeongguk leans over, and gently plucks the earbud from you, and replaces the emptiness with a puckered pout, planting a wet loud kiss right on your ear, smiling like a fool when you pull the other earbud out, and he can feel the muscles of your face stretch into a smile as he continues to peck the spot.

“i’m home” jeongguk says simply, pulling back only slightly to meet your face. “so i noticed” you mention, landing a quick peck on his lips, one that makes him blush ever so slightly. “how was practice?” you inquire, as jeongguk throws himself down into your lap with reckless abandon, curling up in the comfy space your legs has carved, just for him. “boring, long, hard”, he mumbles, lifting a hand from your keyboard to plant it upon his mop of long black hair. you sigh, but it’s all a rouse, as you delicately card your fingertips through jeongguk’s silky strands. he hums, stays quiet for a minute, and then questions, “whatcha workin on?”

an annoyed huff and roll of your eyes is the only answer jeongguk needs, but you continue anyway. “stupid dumbass paper by that stupid dumbass professor for that stupid dumbass class that i won’t pass and gave up caring about after i basically failed the midterm.”

if jeongguk wasn’t half asleep (lulled by your stroking), he would have heard the lump in your throat as you struggled to choke out the last few words. instead, you pray jeongguk didn’t hear, cover up the halfway-sob with a simple throat clearing, and continue to stare at the near blank document in front of you. what does pull aforementioned sleeping bun from his trip to dreamland is the ragged sniff he hears from above him. he opens his eyes, to see your head resting in your opposite hand, eyes teary and leaking, staring into the computer screen with something crossed between murderous lust and desperateness. jeongguk’s nerve endings tingle, and suddenly, full boyfriend mode is activated.

“hey, hey, hey” he whispers, pulling himself out of your lap, curling himself around you the best he can. you struggle against him for just a minute, wishing he could just go, so you could have this moment of childlike frustration all to yourself. but jeongguk doesn’t let that happen, his grip tightening around your waist, and you relent, allowing him to lift you up and onto his chest, leaning back against the wall of pillows at the top of the bed.

“oh sweetness, please no,” he murmurs into your temple, one hand calmly stroking the expanse of your back, while the other cups the base of your head, gently massaging the thin tendons in your neck. jeongguk tries to pretend his heart doesn’t crack a little bit when he feels his shirt dampen, and that his sanity doesn’t nearly fall apart when he hears you choke out a sob you were trying so hard to hold in. “just let it out darling, let it all out” is whispered in your ear, and you relent. gentle words are whispered still, something along the lines of “i love you, it’s okay” and “i’m right here, baby”.

soon, your sobs turn to sniffles, and jeongguk lets out the breath he’d been holding. the atmosphere turns into a soft silence, and it’s only you, jeongguk, and the stars, breathing in a solid, unified rhythm.

“how long have you been working on it?” jeongguk ventures to ask, “since 11 this morning” you sigh, voice stuffy and low. jeongguk gives a simple “hmm”, and the little world you’ve created falls silent again. “i can’t afford to fail this class” you whisper into the dark, so quiet that jeongguk barely hears it.

“baby, i’m not gonna love you any less if you don’t get an a++ on,” he squints to read the title heading on your paper, “professor idiot weiner dipshit’s intro to smaller weiner douchebag shakespeare”

the sound of silence is soon broken by guffawing laughter, the kind that makes tears roll out freely. the ones that make you double over, and you have to forcibly remind yourself to breathe, because in all the humor your brain just forgot how to on its own.

you lean back on jeongguk’s lap, wiping away tears of laughter and happiness, and watching jeongguk do the same. “you might want to change that before you hand it in”, jeongguk grins as he wipes tears, and you can only giggle in response. “thanks for, ya know, helping me through my bi-weekly emotional breakdown”, you grin, and one of his classic “gukkie smiles” lights up his face. “anytime, babygirl” he offers with a smirk, and raises a hand to gently catch your cheek in his hold, bringing your face close enough to let him leave a warm, wet kiss there. long, fluid, comfortable, home.

he pulls away, and his brown doe eyes melt into pure chocolate and honey when they gaze into yours. “whether you pass or fail, it doesn’t matter. you can always take it again, if you can handle the mental turmoil.”

“i’d rather invite a fucking anaconda into our bedroom and cover myself in live mice and hope that it chokes the life out of me”

“what i am TRYING to say”, jeongguk says, clearing his throat to be heard over you, giggling at your own joke, “is that you, this paper, school, it’s all gonna be okay, baby. i promise. you’re a rockstar when it comes to school, you work your ass off for everything, you somehow keep me alive (which is a feat in of itself), and you can actually function as an independent adult.” he grins when he sees an actual, genuine smile light up your face, and he takes the fleeting opportunity to run his thumb over your bottom lip. “be you, baby. no one else can.”

your heart soars at his words, and you crash your lips against his. “thank you” you murmur softly against him, and he simply grins.

jeongguk’s bed now no longer looks like something that came out of the business end of a copier, but rather the comfortable white cloud that he can’t wait to crash onto. laptops are put away, showers are taken, and there’s only one thing to do: sleep. jeongguk has been more than patient with you tonight, and you recognize it. as if you didn’t realize the way he moved earlier, like he was dragging a baby grand piano behind him. which is why you decide to repay him for his virtuous patience, with an excellent post-shower massage, kissing all his bruises, and letting your lips graze over sore muscles.

jeongguk pulls you down into the soft sheets, reveling in the way your skin feels so insanely divine on his bare palm. the warmth radiating off of you, the smell of vanilla shampoo tickling his nose, the relaxed, even cadence of your chest against his. this, finally, is what he’s waited for. what’s he yearned for all day.

you, warmth, happiness, home.

[sasshole-for-rent]

The Stone Of Happiness and Truth

@ladylike-foxes asked:

Prompt: The Lovers for Rune & Asra BUT ~Plot Twist~ ALSO mixing in The Emperor!! (Since you’ve already been working on this mentally, I can’t just make it easy for you, can I? 😘❤)

Asra and Rune || Post-Strength || Fluff with dangerous amounts of Angst

the lovers: love, harmony, mutual attraction; “I love you so much.” possible AUs/settings/ideas: fluff, soulmate au, confessions, mutual pining

Also, since Foxy wants to suffer... 

the emperor: authority, discipline, stubbornness; “You will do as I say.” possible AUs/settings/ideas: kingdom au, argument, enemies to lovers

The songs I listened to were Khai Dreams’s Ultimately and Lost In You, Glass Animals’s Gooey and Pools.

Summary: Asra and Rune are going through memory exercises and other exercises, and Rune remembers. Only to find out that somethings are better left in the dark.

If this moment was a candle, Rune would never light it, because she would want to smell it forever. The feeling of his lips on her neck. The taste of plums and the tea steam of his breath.

Citrus. Smoke. Asra.

Nectar was welling up inside her.

Desire.

            Hunger.

                          Want.

                                    Need.

                                               Lust.  

                                                        Love.

They seldom had moments like this. Moments that weren’t really moments, but lifetimes in a frame of slow minutes. The ticking of a clock and the beating of two hearts in tandem with one another. Euclase points dappled their makeshift bed on the floor in the vivid teal of a faraway ocean. The stone of happiness and truth.

Those lips moved to her neck, tasting the caramel of her skin. His tongue flicked out to the blue flecks of refracted light as if they’d taste different. As if he was tracing hidden messages on her skin that she could hear later with a brush of her fingertips. The movements were lackadaisical and unhurried like a cat stretching before it takes a nap. She balled her fists into the fabric of his shirt, arching her back and pressing against him.

“Asra…”  Rune whispered. Her fingertips tangling themselves in the wisps of his plumose hair. His hair was softer than a summer cloud or a kitten’s belly, she couldn’t decide. She couldn’t think as his hand dove under her blouse, up her side with a ghost’s gentleness. His knuckles brushing the underside of her breast. She bit her lip, humming her approval. “Mmm.”

The was a series of five knocks on the shop door.

“Please tell me you accidentally left the lantern burning, and that you don’t have to get it.” Rune groaned, hesitant to release him. “Don’t go.” She tugged at his hem.

He chuckled gently removing her grabby hands. “I believe the lantern is your responsibility.” Asra countered. Rune fell back on the blankets, groaning more, and reached for her forgotten cup of tea.  

“Quit being so erinaceous.” Asra got up from the pile of blankets they had been canoodling on. He left Rune there, holding her not-so-hot, chipped cup of tea between heavily ringed fingers.

“Call me a hedgehog again and you’ll see just how prickly I can be.” Rune threatened halfheartedly. He gave her a sly smile that promised he would definitely enjoy her prickliness. She rolled her eyes.

He knocked back two more times.

Rune willed tiny flames onto the tips of her fingers, warming the cooled amber inside. After she saw a hint of steam, she sipped at her tea, careful not to burn her tongue. The flavor was smoky with splashes of lip-puckering citrus, and an aftertaste of petals. Her strawberry cream brows rose a degree curious as to who was at the door.

“Ah! The delivery I’ve been waiting for.” Asra chirped as he opened the door a sliver. Rune could make out a dark skinned woman with curls of frosted lilac, before he shut it. Interesting.

“Delivery? You never told me about a delivery.” Rune tested over the rim of her cup. Steam wafted before her face casting it in a sunset glaze. The caramel tones in her skin more prominent in the light of the dying sun. The euclase  catching it perfectly and giving Rune a halo of aqua. The picture of innocence.

The smoky honey of his breath was still hot on her neck, even more delicious then the tea he had brewed for her. Those kisses that made her toes curl and her mind go fuzzy. Her heart a newborn owlet testing its wings against her ribs. Her affection for him was still fledgling.

She prodded the white flower that had bloomed within her cup with her spoon. “Who was that?”

“A friend.” Asra answered. “I didn’t tell you about the delivery, because I wanted it to be a surprise.” He set the suede pouch before her, an owl was stitched into its mauve hide. She pulled on its strings, and sniffed the contents. Periwinkle, sage, and rosemary.

“I was thinking about what you said before…” Asra began. His demeanor had shifted. Rigid despite his calmness. Fear.

“And?” Rune spurred gently.

“I agree, you do deserve to know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “but I’m afraid of might happen.”

“I know you’re afraid. So, am I, but we can’t let that hold us back.”

“Yes, but…”

“No more second guessing, Asra.” Rune smiled, a dimple kissing her cheek. “The worse has already happened before, and I’m still here. You’re still here. I’m stronger now. I can take whatever it is that comes. I promise. I can remember. I will be alright.”

Asra smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I will be okay, Asra.” She said with more zeal.

“Okay.” He conceded, finally.

“Chew those and I’ll help you through it.” He refused to look her in the eyes. “Through a mediation I mean.”

“Think back to your earliest memory.” As  Let that memory wash over you. This is a safe place. If you feel endangered when we progress further. You can snap yourself back to this memory. Feel it around you.” His hands were on her bare shoulder. “Know that you are safe here. That I’m with you.”

The world disappeared beneath her and she was plummeting into the darkness of the very depths of her soul.

The sky had darkened and Asra could smell magic on the rising wind. His pendant of glowing azure levitated off his chest in a gust of salted warmth. The thrill of magic ruffled his hair as if he was in a twister, it was familiar, but it was not his own. It was Rune’s magic. It tasted like truth too long kept secret. It was all Rune.

Faust came winding down the stairs like a comet. “Storm!” she exclaimed in her tiny voice. “Storm! Asra!” Dagaz came flying in like a bat out of hell through the window, funnily enough because he was a bat, and clung to one of the lanterns. Though, Asra wasn’t laughing. He was sobbing. “No! No, no, no…Roo!” He was holding onto her, his fingers running through her hair as his tears fell like the rain outside.

The lantern swung back and forth, flickering eerily, until the first slash of lightning hit outside.

“Roo?” asked Faust. “Roo! Roo!” She slithered around in circles. Then, turned around and slithered widdershins. All the while chanting “Roo! Roo?” in varying states of alarm.

The lantern burst flooding the shop in darkness, showering them in a sharp downpour of glass. Dagaz shrieked at Asra upon seeing Rune in her catatonic state before the light busted. Her eyes rolled back into her head.

Asra paid no heed to the storm brewing outside or Dagaz’s shrieks or Faust’s broken chants, he only cared about Rune and bringing her safely back to him.

“Rue?”

She didn’t answer. Faust coiled around Asra’s arm, offering him comfort. He shook her shoulders careful not to be too rough.

“Can you hear me?”

She could not hear him.

Rune was oblivious to her reality because she was not present in her body. She was present in the onslaught of memories. Her body was catatonic. Her memories too long stoppered just beyond her will. Sudden like rust colored sand through her fingers. Asra was there. Solemn, serious, not Asra.

“Don’t go down this path.”

She didn’t. She went left. He went right. The sand paled. Orange as a sunburst. Desert. Prickly like needles into fabric. She went with that thread, stitched into a new memory. Humming softly, candlelight. Mother. Where will you go my sweet one? Who will you meet before the day is done? She was bored. There was thunder in the distance. She ignored it. She was running barefoot through her family’s arbor gardens. Dirt between her toes, squishy. Childhood whimsy. Wisteria and foxgloves dancing in the warm static like warning bells. She hummed, believed they were fairies. Chimes screaming. Beware little one sung the petal scented wind. Magic. Hers. Her name was called. Mother. The storm hit. Purple slashed the sky and a torrent of rain blinded her. Mama! Strawberry hair. Muddy toes. She was terrified. Tears dissipate a reflection in a puddle. A fountain.

His.

The braid of willow tree branches. Twisted tongues. Tongues that wove pretty things, things that weren’t truths. She touched the euclase at her clavicle, it glowed. Warm. Truth. A name hewn into the bark.

Hers.

“Who am I to you?”

Snowy hair and wistful smiles. Stars falling just to perch on his lashes. Lips itching to confess. Asra. Yet not. He had buried his love in dreams he had only lived with her in his deepest fantasies. No more. Now, she knew.

“That’s why it's so hard...”

Everything went bubble gum pink. The dawning of a new day. Newborn baby toes. The pink of pillowy lips, so familiar yet not, as they touched her forehead. The memory went blank.

“To make you forget.”

A new one surfaced like the back of a whale through a choppy sea. Peaceful. Sanctuary. The sound of splashing water, kisses, and the ocean at hide tide. It was like trying to stop the current of the river while your toes curled into the mud. The current flowed around her. Wet. The images blurred. Too fast. The voices warbled. Too slow.

“Go faster, Asra.”

Hers.

Hot breath against her ear in the form of her name, made the world reappear.

“Oh no, Rune!”

It was Asra. He was frantic and searching her eyes, as if it wasn’t her who came back or that she was still not seeing him. She blinked, and she visibly saw his whole body shutter. “Please.” He tilted his head heavenward. “Please, come back to me…”

She grabbed him by the face. He hiccuped out a sob. Relief. Love. “You came back to me.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answer anyway. “I will always come back to you.”

He kissed her right then and there. It was coming alive. “You remembered.” he whispered against her lips. It was nostalgia. She kissed the tears off his cheeks. He laughed with blissful abandon and she was alive. Whole. It was heartbreak and redamancy folded together like paper cranes.

Love wasn’t falling.

Love was drowning.

Love was not always a pleasant thing, nor was it entirely unpleasant. To some people their only peace. To others their only chaos. Whatever it was, you were reborn as a person.

Whether you came out scorned and bitter or devoted and kind, you were different before you drowned in love.

She had drowned long ago.

Rune knew one thing: she was completely and irrevocably in love with Asra.

They laid together that night in the bed they shared, naked bodies dancing in the throes of love. They laughed. They kissed. They were drunk on each other’s tastes. The scent of sweat and passion heady over the incense swirling around them. 

Rune had confessed her love for Asra. Her lips pressed to his damp shoulder. she had confessed it again and again until it morphed into his name. A steady chant that weakened over time. Her voice was rough and barely there when the night was through. Asra spent and dosing by her side. 

The euclase around her neck glowed and revealed to her another truth.

She had murdered Count Lucio.

[sungvin97]

Lost In Wonderland Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter 4 is here! We will meet Seokjin, Yoongi, and Jimin next week. For now, enjoy! Again, tell me what you think.

Wonderland Time of King Jidwi

        A soft thud woke Y/N and she opened her eyes to see the sun beginning to set. They had just landed on the other side of the river. Hoseok and Taehyung were gathering their stuff and stepping out of the boat.

“Come on. We’re here,” said Jungkook.

Y/N followed him out of the boat. Namjoon was talking to the boat again. The boat turned and floated back the way they came, probably returning to the other side. Namjoon looked at up at the setting sun.

“We all slept on the ride over and it’s better the quicker we get to Heartland so I suggest that we continue and try to reach Heartland by morning.”

Taehyung and Hoseok nodded at Namjoon’s words.

“Come on, Princess,” said Jungkook quietly, smiling at her.

Y/N smiled back. It had been a while since she had heard the nickname from him. For once, she didn’t mind the nickname. The five of them walked away from the river and headed towards the border between Wonderland and Heartland.

“It’s best if we sneak pass the border guards. None of us have any papers and the king doesn’t want anyone to leave Wonderland,” said Hoseok.

“People are still escaping through Heartland merchants. We could try to find one,” suggested Taehyung.

Namjoon smiled. “Let’s go with that because there’s a high chance that a merchant is going to come our way soon with others.”

“We would definitely reach the capital by morning then,” said Jungkook.

“Y/N, don’t ever say your name. If anyone asks, tell them your name is Jiae,” said Namjoon.

Y/N nodded quickly as they continued walking.

“Wow, he gave you that name,” said Taehyung quietly to Y/N.

Y/N frowned. “What’s wrong with it?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just…a couple years ago Namjoon met a girl from the capital.  They fell in love. Namjoon saw that she could be found and taken away to the work camps. He didn’t believe that vision, choosing to believe in another one he saw where she lived with him. Unfortunately, she was found and shipped off to the work camps. Namjoon doesn’t know if she’s alive or not, but he regrets that day a lot. He could have protected her but he didn’t.”

“Her name was Jiae?” asked Y/N, glancing at Namjoon’s back.

Taehyung nodded.

Y/N wondered how many other people there were in Wonderland who had lost loved ones under her father’s rule. Her eyes drifted to Jungkook. She couldn’t bare it if Jungkook was taken away from her.

“Oh are the princess’s eyes on her guard?” teased Taehyung from her side.

“Shut up. He’s my friend.”

“All relationships start out as friends,” said Taehyung with his box smile appearing.

“He sees me as a sister.”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like it to me. I thought you guys were together when we first met. I think he’s interested in you.”

“He’s not.”

“And you are?”

“I’m not.”

Y/N increased her speed and walked next to Hoseok, leaving Taehyung giggling behind her.

        It was midday when they heard the carts coming from behind them. Namjoon smiled when his sight proved to be right as one of the merchants pulled up in front of them. Namjoon bowed to the driver and approached him. They talked in hushed whispers. Finally the driver stepped down to talk with them.

“The four of you can climb in the back. I’m carrying two small families so just blend in. You two boys can be related to one of the families. You two can be a newlywed couple. You’re going to be my nephew. You shouldn’t need to worry about people finding you but just in case, go along with your roles.”

Namjoon took the seat next to the driver as his nephew. Taehyung and Hoseok talked with a family in the back and agreed to be brothers. Jungkook and Y/N took one of the small children from the families to pretend was theirs. Y/N didn’t miss Taehyung’s look but she ignored it as the cart lurched forward. There were five carts that carried people escaping from Wonderland as well as items that could hide them. A canvas hung over the framework of the carts as another layer of protection. They were being smuggled into Heartland.

        Y/N knew they had reached the border when the carts stopped and she could hear voices. Their driver was explaining that he was coming back to his home after selling his goods and buying some things for his business. Soon, their cart was moving again and from the sound of it, all the carts had passed the border guard of Wonderland. They had made it into Heartland.

Heartland Time of King Seokjin

        The cart stopped in the early morning. The refugees from Wonderland shed tears of joy now that they were free of the king’s rule.

“You are not far from the capital. Only a couple miles. Work will be given to you. I wish you happiness,” said their driver.

The carts moved towards the capital that could be seen in the distance. The five of them immediately started towards the capital as the other people who had traveled in the carts rejoiced in their escape.

“We made it by morning,” said Hoseok with a smile.

“Hey Jungkook. That kid back there looked like he really could have been yours and Y/N’s son!” said Taehyung gleefully.

Y/N glared at him, trying to stop the redness that appeared on her face. Jungkook didn’t say anything. Namjoon looked at them with a faraway look in his eyes again.

“What are you seeing, Namjoon?” asked Hoseok, noticing Namjoon’s gaze.

“Just something that could happen,” he said with a smile.

        They reached the capital within a couple hours and the beauty of it stunned Y/N. There were houses scattered around, built of bricks, that had children running and laughing outside of them. Mothers were hanging up laundry outside. As they neared the capital’s center, the marketplace came into view. Merchants selling their items and food, were talking and laughing with their customers. Ribbons of many colors were draped across stalls, drawing eyes to them. A sculpture of a woman with her arms out and hearts dropping from her fingertips was in the center. Children played around the based of the sculpture.

“She was Heartland’s first ruler. Queen Sarang,” said Jungkook to Y/N.

The capital was built with a cliff to its back. A waterfall could be seen falling down the cliff face and melting into a small river that wound its way through the capital, providing its people with fresh water. The water wasn’t clear but rather a mix of colors, like the rainbow.

“Each color has a different taste. Some are sweet while others are salty. It’s good for cooking and just plain drinking,” said Hoseok.

“Yeah, the yellow gets you drunk and the blue is just regular. I like the green. It’s really sour and makes your face pucker!” said Taehyung, darting towards the water only to get caught by Namjoon.

“We have more important things to do, Tae.”

Taehyung pouted but followed Namjoon.

The castle where the king lived was in front of the waterfall, the mouth of the river behind it for the royal family. The castle was big and made of white rocks that had a pink shine to them in the sunlight.

“I’ve heard that the king likes pink. I guess it’s true,” said Hoseok.

“Is this King Sunwoo’s son?” asked Jungkook.

“Yes. King Sunwoo passed away only a couple years after our queen’s death. King Seokjin ascended the throne when he was twenty. He was young but he has proven to be a great king,” responded Namjoon.

“He’s five years older than the princess,” said Hoseok. “Or I guess you,” he corrected himself, looking at Y/N.

Namjoon turned to Y/N.

“My father gave this to me before he died. He told me to give it to the princess when she comes of age. This proves you are the heir of Wonderland.”

He dropped a ring into Y/N hand and she turned it over, examining it. It was a simple ring, made of silver with a design and stone set in it. The stone was shaped like a teardrop and was mostly white but other colors were mixed in, making it seem iridescent. Y/N recognized it as an opal. The silver band wasn’t too thick and had a rabbit and cat beautifully crafted onto either side of the stone. It fit perfectly onto her right ring finger. She felt a sense of calm wash over her and her fingertips tingled as if with some form of energy.

“The rabbit and cat are the symbols of Wonderland. They helped found the country with our first queen. They were called White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat,” explained Namjoon.

“The king doesn’t have this ring. It’s given to every ruler. He’s not a true ruler without it. You’re our real ruler. The ring helps harness your power and control it. It always knows who it belongs to. I think you can feel it when you’re the rightful ruler,” said Hoseok.

Y/N nodded, looking at the ring. “It feels right.”

“So you really are our princess,” said Taehyung softly.

“Told you,” said Namjoon. “Now, let’s go meet the king and get on our way to saving Wonderland.”