#the whole OH THEIR PRO BIRTH thing is kind of a leap | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ktheist · 4 years

Text

birth of an empress.

synopsis. partners for three years and friends for longer, jungkook thought you’d remain so until he saw you with the knight at the merchant’s trade.

alternatively, the friendly neighborhood wizard trying to propose to the infamous dragon slayer in the middle of slaying a dragon? now, that’s classic.

muses. wizard!jungkook x dragonslayer!reader x knight!jimin

trope. bad girl, good guy but make it magical. / royalty au / dragon slayer au / wizard au / parents au

words. 13k

disclaimer. no dragon was harmed in the making of this scenario.

warnings. depictions of dragon slaying, war and violence. mentions of blood.

story time.

note. wow i powered through this right after an all nighter of doing assignments. please give it some love guys / this is one-shot continuation from my wizard’s oath drabble so if you feel like you’ve read the first few scenes, that’s probably why. stay tuned for my story time where i talk about the characters’s dynamics, what inspires me etc!

“hey so, listen.” jungkook says, back pressed up flat against the slab of concrete wall that barely covers the two of you, “you know we’ve been at it for a long time, right?”

you throw your gaze at the boy - perhaps he’s a little taller than the first time you met him but you can’t help see him as that kid from across the streets who would boast about his wizard-counsel father to you, “i swear to god and merlin and everything you consider magical, if you tell me you want to stop slaying dragons just as we’re about to slay a goddamn dragon, i will obliterate you right here and now, jeon.”

a tree trunk wheezes past the wall straight into the tower a few feet ahead, bringing it down into ruins, followed by a mighty roar, as though to warn you about going against it.

“no. i’m not gonna stop.” he quickly says, bright doe eyes boring into you, “i’m just saying-”

you grab a fistful of his shirt, yanking him with you as you leap to the side and go rolling down the hill just as the slab of wall melts from the burst of fire that pours out the dragon’s mouth.

“okay, that’s great then.” you throw him a fleeting glance - indicating that you’re listening before ducking just in time as the dragon turns its head in your direction. “but can’t this wait?”

the face he makes at your last question reminds you of a kicked puppy. almost in an instant, you want to put down the elven sword and bring him into a bear hug and apologize. but when the booming roar tears through the sky like thunder, you know you don’t have that luxury.

“cover for me.” are your last words before you bolt straight to the dragon, the heat on the soles of your feet gathering before propping you forward and onto the dragon’s back.

the beast cries out in agony when you drive your sword through its scales, swaying sideways, almost throwing you off if it wasn’t for your tight grip on the handle of the sword.

you don’t need call for the wizard. he knows his cue when he steps in front of the dragon, deep purple hood drawn over his head and half of his face. the only thing visible is his moving lips. speaking a foreign language that’s lost to most of the world.

when the dragon stills, you yank the sword out of its flesh and trudge up the slope of its back, aiming for its head.

you distinctly notice the illuminated circle forming around the dragon as it growls in contempt for the spell jungkook is casting on it. a movement restriction spell. the heat comes back full-force, coursing through your veins and lighting up the hollow in your chest. you take the last leap before landing on its head, sword digging deep in between its slit-like eyes.

it takes you a moment to pull the sword out of the dragon’s thick skull, silver blood splattering all over your clothes and face. the dragon tumbles to the ground right in front of the unmoving wizard a heartbeat and a half later while you wipe the elven sword with your sleeve before sheathing it.

“good job, wizard.” you commend but instead of the usual grin he would offer you after every slay, this time, he looks at you with furrowed brows and pressed lips.

“what’s wrong? are you hurt?” you reach out a hand to check his face but instead, he holds it firmly midair before dropping to his knees.

“i know you think of me as nothing more than your neighborhood friend and partner but when i saw you with that knight last week,” face contorts painfully, he shakes his head as though willing a bad memory away. then he meets your curious eyes with a light so clarifying, his purification magic can’t even compete, “i can’t do this anymore - going out to battles and having the fear of either of us dying. ___. before i regret it, i want you to marry me.”

that’s when you retract your hand out of his grasp as though it’s as hot as the dragon’s fiery breath, “no. you’re insane, jeon.”

you begin to trudge forward, going around the dragon’s carcass to get to the forestline where it’ll lead back to the village.

“that i am but not because i’ve decided to spend my whole life with you!” he calls out, feet padding hurriedly to chase after you.

“jungkook.” you abruptly turn around, making him halt just a few inches away. a sigh escapes your lips when you find yourself staring at his chest, all thanks to his unfair height. you crane your neck, after all these years, it still doesn’t sit well with you that the boy you grew up with had overgrown you by a head and a half, “you’re not thinking straight! i mean, you never even had a lover and now you’re asking me to marry you? that’s absurd!”

“will you be my lover then?” he asks, stars in his eyes.

“not in a million eons!” you almost scream but he doesn’t seem to be affected by the rejection - before he can say anything though, you’ve already turned your back on him. trudging down the pathway.

“you won’t marry me and you won’t be my lover! what am i supposed to do to win your heart?” it’s the delicateness in his voice and the fact that he isn’t following you, that makes you stop in your trek.

“god, you’re such an idiot.” you groan, turning around with your arms crossed over your chest. it’s a struggle to remain mad when he looks at you like a lost puppy but you persevere, “flowers and picnics and taking me to dances - things like that. just because i’ve been holding swords more than i do needles and threads doesn’t mean i don’t want what any girl wants... to be courted.”

by the end of it, you feel like you’re on fire. not the kind of fire that you feel when your powers course through your veins, but the kind that makes you squirm and want to run away out of sheer embarrassment.

“o-oh.” jungkook stutters out as he starts to register your words. “th-then, will you go with me to old hedrick’s party - i know it’s no ball but we can dance and after that, maybe we could go to the field and watch the stars?”

you take your sweet time going over the pros and cons of becoming jungkook’s lover - everyone will know as soon as you show up in a dress with jungkook and at a party at that. your sisters were the ones that are considered the social butterflies.

when you take too long, jungkook starts rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“okay. meet you there at 8.”

his head almost snaps off his neck when he looks up to you so fast. all stars and smiles. “really?”

“and no robes - dress normally, for once.” you add, noticing the way his robes would encase around him like a cocoon. it’s been awhile since you actually see him wear anything but that.

“no robes,” he echoes, agreeing but his eyes light up all the more when he looks like a thought has crossed him, “and no swords either.”

your shoulder line tenses at that. between the two of you, one uses a wand and the other uses an otherwordly sword. and you definitely do not know how deadly spells come out of a twig.

“but what if we get attacked?” you try to reason.

“you seem to forget,” jungkook plants both his hands on his hips, chest puffed with pride - it reminds you of the time when he would stop you in the middle of you coming home from buying breads and begin boasting about his father’s recent achievements at the council, saying he’ll be just like him or perhaps even more powerful, “just because you’re the one who does all the slaying, doesn’t mean i’m any less lethal - i’m the strongest wizard of our time. and a wand is definitely easier to carry than a sword.”

“very well,” a sigh escapes you while your shoulders sag in defeat, “no swords.”

jungkook looks proud - like he just won a fight. with that, you whirl on your heels, a hand held up to wave at him, “well then, better hurry and harvest the dragon’s heart if you want to make it to the dance on time.”

you hear the wizard grumble from behind you as he rushes back to where the dragon lies, withered, complaining about how he really should get himself an apprentice.

“one night,” you throw your head back against the wall, shoulderline slacking, “i decide to leave my sword at home for just one night and that’s when the mercenaries come to gather in our village for an illegal faery smuggling.”

the muted pleas of the winged creatures almost get drowned out by the boisterous yelling and laughing of the group of men in the streets. subdued light shines from underneath the poorly blanketed boxes in the cart, no doubt cages where they keep the captured faeries.

“don’t worry, ___.” jimin smiles, brown pupils disappearing beneath his crescent shaped eyes, “i’ll protect you.”

he raises the silver sword in his hand, the royal family’s dragon crest peeking from his grip on the handle.

“no, you won’t need to protect her.” jungkook chirps in heatedly from your other side, “because that’s my job.”

“as i recall, ___ wouldn’t put her trust on magic to save her life,” the smile, if anything, widens just the tiniest bit, “just an observation, of course.”

before the wizard can form another retort - and you know you’ll never see the end of this if you don’t put a stop to it, you quickly speak over the hushed silence, meeting the eyes of the guests that are cramped in old hedrick’s slightly-smaller-than a villa abode.

“don’t worry everyone, these two may appear unreliable but one is the emperor’s personal knight and the other is the brightest wizard of the century.” you offer them a tight smile, not because you don’t believe what came out of your mouth but because it’s the absolute, honest truth yet they are doing nothing to assure the people of their capabilities than argue who to play the knight in shining armor.

if we’re talking about technicalities, then technically, jimin is exactly that.

“indeed, we shall put a stop to the atrocities happening right in the streets of our homes.” jungkook rises from the ground, hands planted on either sides of his hips but it’s short lived when you pull him back down to hide underneath the windowline you’ve been peeking through.

“stay down. we don’t know if they have any enchantments or if there are dark wizards among them.” you hiss underneath your breath.

it’s a moment later that you hear a grating voice call from outside, “you there! hiding in that hideous house! come out!”

old hedrick looks like he’s about to leap out and prance at whoever insulted his home and perhaps get beaten up by men twice or thrice as strong as he is - the only thing stopping him is your hard stare that makes him cower behind his second wife.

“let’s go.” you’re the first to rise to your feet, patting off the dust from your dress that your sisters almost got into a fight about when choosing what color would match your eyes.

“stay close to me.” jungkook murmurs under his breath from next to you while jimin lets out a brief laugh just before you stop a good ten feet away from the men who seem to stiffen at the sight of jimin.

“what’s so funny?” the same man whose called you out steps forward - he seems to be the leader, eyes burning holes inside jimin’s chest where the ghost of the dragon lies upon his armor, “you think you’re so tough? huh, knight?”

“no, not at all.” the aforementioned knight shakes his head, a cheeky smile adorning his features, “but supposedly, the wizard does.”

and just like that, all eyes fall on jungkook. “wizard, huh?” the man grins, golden tooth and all.

“half of you can barely read, let alone understand the law but it isn’t a puzzle piece to figure out that capturing magifolks is illegal.” he starts, from your periphery, you see his left hand holding his wand on his back , “if you walk away now, perhaps you get to do jail time with your limbs intact.”

they burst into laughter, almost as though it was a baby who said such threats.

“i’d probably believe that nice lady is more capable of putting a scratch on my face if she said that than you, boy.” the leader towers over in laughter, slapping his knee as though he’s heard the jest of the century.

“will you?” you lift one brow at the leader in the midst of the subsiding humor.

“what?” one of them questions while swiping a tear off the corner of his eye.

“walk away. if i told you too - i would hate to ruin my dress teaching you men a lesson.” you don’t know if it’s the ice cold tone you’re using or if it’s the way to stare at them, but their shoulderline begin to straighten as each of them begin to size you up, those with daggers strapped on their waist or thighs reaching for their weapons now.

“why don’t you come here and whisper it to my ear, yeah?” his lecherous grin returns but there’s a sort of restraint that tells you he’s no longer perceiving you as the damsel in distress.

for one, there isn’t a single line of frustration on your forehead.

“oh, i wouldn’t do that if i were you.” jimin warns them but it’s already too late. you’re already treading towards the leader with heavy footsteps and before you know it, a familiar heat courses through your veins, focusing in the fist that you’re swigging towards him.

a loud crack cuts through the night as the man slouches against the broken wood of the card, face half-rearranged, gold tooth falling in his lap while blood from his mouth and nose trickles down his chin. for a moment, everyone and everything stands still.

“those of you who think you can withstand me and my companions, step forward. otherwise run along like the cowards that you are who dare only step on the weak.” you nonchalantly offer, meeting the eyes of the mercenaries one by one.

the first warrior-cry breaks through the night as one of them charges at you with a dagger, loomed with the shadow of the dark arts. you step aside, tripping your attacker and sending him leaping across the ground, right in front of jimin’s polished metal shoes.

you catch the knight’s devious grin before he hits your attacker’s head with the hilt of his sword, sending the man unconscious. it’s then that they begin to charge all at once, bearing weapons much sinister than the last. jungkook helps thwart the weapons out of their hands so you can take them on bare hands fair and square - but you suppose it isn’t all that fair when you have the blood of thr first dragon slayer running in your veins.

they soon learn that they have to go for the wizard in the back to actually dismantle you and jimin.

“a little help here!” jungkook yells over the throng of mercenaries out to kill him.

“bit busy!” jimin yells back somewhere a few feet away,driving the hilt of his sword in the face of one of the mercenaries that was charging at him when he had his back on him “and quite literally, don’t care if you get your hair messed up!”

you shake your head at their banter, piling up your own body counts, ducking and sending blow strong enough to knock them out at once. it’s some time after your 13th hit that a morning star misses you by a inch.

the wielder is burlier and taller than the average men, sporting a nastier frown as he gazes down at you like an annoying little fire ant that refuses to go down.

“___, catch!” jimin calls for you, just before he tosses you his sword and uses the same hand he’d held the sword to sucker punch the man who’s halfway blacked out as he claws at jimin’s wrist to release his shirt.

“thanks!” you grin when you feel the solidity of the dragon engraved handle and measure its likely weight with your own elven sword.

the burly man grunts when he misses you again by a hair’s breadth. eye twitching when you gesture for him to come to you with your free hand. when he does, you step to the side, taking the opening to slash the sword through his forearm and sending the weapon skidding on the ground while he growls in pain, clutching onto the wound. the heat warms up your entire body as you leap forward, smashing the hilt of the sword into his face, sending him tumbling on the ground. after you’re sure he’s not getting up, only then do you let yourself breathe, returning the sword to its owner.

“___, are you okay?” jungkook’s wide, round eyes are captures your own for a split second before they wander to your tattered dress, inspecting if there was any wounds. if anything, there will be when your sisters see the the ghastly tear on the side of the dress.

before you can even say anything, his arms band around you and traps you in a bone-crushing hug. you have to take twice to make sure it’s still the same wizard that’s watched you slay dragons for the last three years.

“i’m fine. the dark magic infused in their weapons weakened my powers a bit but i’m not a child, you know? i’ve faced worse.” you chuckle, patting his back.

somewhere behind jungkook, you hear someone clear their throat. the wizard appears to be less perplexed when he turns around to face old hedrick and the rest of the villagers that poured out of their homes where they’d been silently watching the events unfold.

the priest approaches you with a grateful smile, “dragon slayer and wizard, you have our humblest gratitude.” then he gestures for jimin to come closer and he does, sending you a cheeky grin when he stops to stand next to you, “you too, knight. there is evil lurking in every shadow but the three of you are what makes the world a better place.”

“it was part of my duty.” jimin lowers his head, arm crossed over his chest while you shift your weight on your feet.

“i just live here so.” you shrug.

it’s jungkook that steps forth, enjoying the fame and attention, “as long as i, your friendly neighborhood wizard, and my dragon slayer sidekick,” he gestures to you before announcing with his whole chest, “are around, you have nothing to fear. this is my wizard’s oath.”

you join the bouts of cheers and applause from the villagers, shaking your head at his antics. but when they begin to crowd him like ants around sugar, you slowly disappear into the shadows where you know the familiar route will take you back to your home. but five steps in, jimin falls into pace with you, his metal armor clacking in the dark.

“allow me to walk you home, my lady.” with the sources of dark magic gone, you’re able to use your powers to see his cheeky grin even in the dark.

“ladies don’t wield swords like a savage.” you remark, returning your own grin.

“they come in many forms.” he replies too smoothly, “but one thing’s for sure - they all bleed blue.”

you feel your body freeze, step coming to a stop. “how do you-”

“the prince,” he offers, as though it’s the answer you’re looking for before he continues, “sends his invitation to you for dinner in three night’s time. that’s what i came here to tell you before the mercenaries begin to pour in.”

he doesn’t ask for your permission when he slips his hand under your stone cold one, bringing it to his lips. your tongue is tied but your throat itches to say something - to ask more about the dinner but before you can, you hear jungkook calling you not too far away and when you look back to where the knight is supposed to be, all you see is darkness.

“i can’t believe you’re leaving me to go home when we promised to watch the stars together.” jungkook huffs, lips pursed just the slightest bit.

“jungkook, how well do you know the prince?” you finally say after breaking away from your stupor.

“the prince?” he blinks, the remnants of his sulking now disappeared into thin air, “he’s a spoiled brat. whenever i get hired to escort him to one of his crusades, all he does is boast about anything and everything to the royal families whose castle we were staying at.” the wizard scrunches his nose, as though willing a bad memory away. “why?”

“he just invited me to dinner.” you inform, watching as his facial complexion drop and his hands grip your shoulders tightly.

“you can’t - mustn't go, ___.”

“wands and weapons, please.” the footman approaches you just as you step through the much nicer room of the inn where the prince told you to meet him.

you share a cautious look with jungkook, the wizard being more apparent with his reluctance when his eyebrows join together as he reaches for the wand in his pocket while you unstrap your sword from your hips.

“right this way.” another footman steps forward, gesturing to the door adjacent to the entrance.

“ah! dragon slayer, welcome!” prince hoseok grins from the table he’s at, eyes going wide when he sees the familiar wizard who insisted on tagging along, “jungkook, i’ll be damned. i didn’t know you knew ___. if i did, i would’ve had you introduce us sooner.”

“yes, well, last i recall, you were planning to propose a law against dragon slayers - which got shot down so fast for it’s absurdity since slayers help keep the empire from falling in the dragon’s reign.” jungkook offers, a hard line on his lips as he studies the prince with suspicious eyes.

“that was the past,” prince hoseok shakes his hand as though he doesn’t hear the hostility in the wizard’s greeting, “cousin, come and take a seat. we’ve a lot to catch up.”

you bow rather than drop to a courtesy. after all, you’re in your gear and this isn’t any normal dinner.

“it’s an honor to have you come all the way here, your highness. do you like the village so far?” you begin with pleasantries and even go as far as fixing the young prince a smile once you sit yourself across from him, jungkook on your left.

the prince leans back against the chair as he throws his head back while he sighs, “i expected better but i’m not surprised at the appalling state you people live in - it’s a poor farmers’ village after all.”

you hum, “i wonder whose fault that is that lets the people suffer in such poor conditions.” the smile just the slightest bit strained at his offhanded comment just as the footman rolls in with the food.

he pretends he doesn’t hear that too.

“ah, don’t you just love red wine?” the prince offers you a dimpled smile, tilting the flute glass as he takes a whiff of whatever red wines are supposed to smell like - you never understood how these people could sit around distinguishing the smell of one beverage to another while there were people scraping for a day’s worth of meal all over the empire.

“all wine tastes the same to me, your highness.” you begin to cut through the steak.

“i shouldn’t have asked,” the prince shakes his head in mirth, placing the wine down on the table before he makes a biting comment, “brutes like you only know how to swing a sword and kill everything the her path just like your father.”

“that’s it.” a thud echoes against the walls as jungkook’s chair tilts backwards as he abruptly stands, “we’re leaving. i knew something’s up when you invited ___ for dinner even though you hated dragon slayers. in the end, you’re still the spoiled rotten brat who takes pleasure in terrorizing others.”

you suppress a smile from the wizard’s outburst, your own anger subsiding halfway. it’s not that you don’t want to defend your father’s pride but you barely knew the guy. he disappeared like thin air after the night he left for a foreign country in search for the spiked dragon. you appreciate jungkook getting more worked up than you though.

“what’s the meaning of this?” jungkook demands when the guards at the door steps in his way.

“so that’s how it is.” you chuckle dryly, turning to face the smirking prince. “a secret meeting at some unknown village just on the boarder. this is how you’ll make sure to secure the throne? by killing the more eligible heir who actually has the first emperor’s blood running through her veins?”

you think you struck a cord when the prince slams his fisted hand onto the table, “blame it on the history lessons i get from our great uncle clifford and his brutal slaughtering of all his seven brothers and cousins.” he sneers but frowns when he looks at jungkook, “i liked you, wizard. i even thought of bringing you into the council as my royal mage. you have potential. shame that you chose to side with the savage.”

jungkook threatens through gritted teeth, taking one step towards the leisure man but stop when the guards begin to pour into the room, swords pointing from every direction. you place a hand on jungkook’s shoulder, feeling his muscles relax just slightly as you speak.

“how about you stop hiding behind your guards, prince? face this savage with honor - if you win, nobody will challenge your right to the throne.”

“i have no time for games. kill them.” the prince begins to dig into the steak, cringing when it enters his mouth and spitting it back out, saying something about how it’s still raw while the guard begin to corner you and jungkook until you’re back-to-back with each other.

“this isn’t looking to good, is it?” you ask.

“i can feel my wand close by, if we could just get through-”

jungkook’s words get cut off as you drop to the ground, extending a leg and tripping one guard over before punching another one where the sun doesn’t shine. after recovering from the surprise attack, they begin to charge at you all at once.

you hiss when you pick up a sword from one of the guards you’ve taken down. the dark magic seeps into your body like molten lava the more you try to resist it. the dragon crest of the royal family is missing and the weight of this sword is much heavier than jimin’s. but you chalk it up with the fact that dark magic is most lethal to the blood of the dragon slayers.

“___, let that thing go! it’s enchanted. you can’t handle the dark magic flowing through it!” jungkook orders, voice reaching the roof and effectively letting the enemies know of your infirmity.

cold sweat is already beginning to trickle down your forehead. the warmth of your power now a dying smolder in your chest.

“who’s got a better chance at wielding a sword? you or me?” you retort, sending him one last grin before going all in, slashing through the guards without any care for life the way you did three days ago with the mercenaries.

although you still try to avoid injuring their vital organs, just enough to make them drop their weapons.

you’re heaving and sporting cuts - some deep, some shallow - by the time the last body hits the ground. the prince isn’t anywhere in sight and the last remaining guards who kept their distance, watching you them down one after another, finally realizes their loss and flee.

that’s when you allow yourself to drop to your knees, hands clutching the sword tightly for dear life until jungkook yanks it out of you. his face is blurred but if your vision isn’t so badly damaged, maybe you’ll see his eyebrows furrowing while words pour out of his lips like a dam, telling you to lie down and rest but all you hear now is an echoing ring.

“you...” you huff through bated breaths, “...worry too much.”

that’s when darkness consumes you.

the sound of a twig snapping is what sends alarms throughout your body.

it’s close.

too close.

the steps they take is heavy but soundless - for ordinary human hearing that is. you know it’s a man’s footstep before you even leap from your laying down position, hand clenched into a fist only to stop centimeters from jimin’s nose.

from the way he blinks his rounded eyes, it appears as though he didn’t expect you to be awake.

as if on cue, your vision shakes and you fall backwards but before your head hits the ground, the knight is already on your side, hand under your head as he lay you down slowly.

“where am i?” you squint your eyes at the crackling fire a few feet away.

“in the wizard’s secret cave.” he replies simply, sitting down on the ground next to you.

you grunt in displeasure when you recall the haunting memories of the dark magic taking over you, draining every trace of fire from your chest until you feel like your rib cages were about to cave. but along with the recollection comes realization.

glaring at the knight, you quiz him, “why are you here? aren’t you on the prince’s side?”

jimin shakes his head, almost appalled at the thought, “i swore allegiance to the emperor and his excellency wanted to see what his foolish son would do when he found out about another potential heir that could claim the throne.”

a shadow cast itself over his feature as something heavy lapses over the cave’s walls, “his excellency is deeply sorry for what his son did - he thought prince hoseok would’ve tried bettering his swordsmanship or take an interest in politics instead of going for his cousin’s head.”

“and yet i’m the one lying on the ground in some cave.” you scoff, throwing a glance over jimin’s solemn expression, noticing how he keeps his eyes on his lap instead of looking at you.

“his imperial majesty can’t be seen taking the side of a commoner-mothered niece. even if that niece bears a stronger blood of the dragons.” he’s murmuring now, you don’t know if it’s because you can hear him clearly or because he’s ridden by guilt.

“all i hear is an excuse of a failed monarch who’s too lazy to fix what he broke so he decided to sit in the sidelines and watch things unfold but when someone is about to die, he’ll save them and call it his best effort.” you suppress a groan as the drumming against your temples intensifies just as you begin to push yourself up again but this time, more careful.

“don’t touch me.” it came out harsher than you intend it to. but jimin places his hands back in his lap, clenching and unclenching it.

a minute sense of satisfaction blooms across your chest when you manage to stand up on your own. if you think the light from the fire was too much after having known only darkness for who-knows-how long, the rays at the end of the cave is almost blinds you.

yet the first tingle of the warmth on your skin is liberating - reminds you that you’re alive.

“____?” a familiar voice calls you as a cloaked fogure in deep purple step out of the bushes, bearing a basket full of herbs, “is it really you?”

the bags under his eyes are a telltale sign of lack of sleep, possibly from tending to your fish-on-land-state.

“unless you can see spirits, i reckon it is me.” you shoot him a grin.

but what you don’t expect is for tears to begin pricking those sleepless eyes and him dropping the basket on the ground. before you know it, you’re engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. his arms shake around you and his sniffles drum in your ears - it hadn’t dawn on you that you could’ve lost your life until jungkook is crying and mumbling words you can barely catch.

“y-your life force was so weak - i - i thought i was g-going to lose you.” he forces out between ripples of sniffles, “i-i didn’t know if you were gonna wake up, ____, it-it’s been a week - a week of watching your unconscious body lay there after i extracted what i could of the dark magic.”

you hug him back a little tighter, burying your face in his chest. the lump in your throat makes it hard to speak - to even tease him about being such a cry baby like you usually would.

“no, i absolutely and irrevocably am not going to head a riot.” you announce, slamming the bowl of broth made by your mother. jungkook had gotten it before he came here, it was buried underneath the herbs he’d picked up along the way.

jimin’s shoulder line remains straight and dignified. he’s gotten over your earlier conversation as if you were discussing whether faery hair or berserker spine would be a better mold for a sword.

the answer is berserker spine, undoubtedly.

“the people has caught wind of the direct descendant of the first emperor.” jimin begins, “they won’t stand for the prince’s irresponsible behavior anymore than they have to.”

“what about you?” glancing at the wizard who’s been quiet since jimin brought up the matter, you finally choose to address him directly, “what do you think?”

jungkook shifts his weight on his other foot, setting down the ladle in a bowl next to the couldron, “i- well, the current royal family’s blood is too obscured by ordinary lineage, the current emperor has some powers but the prince is basically human-“

the sigh is what makes him clamp his mouth shut. the look he gives you reminds you of an injured puppy.

“i haven’t even been awake for five hours yet the weight of the crown is already pushed upon me.” the hard wooden material of the chair pokes into your sore back, almost as though mocking you for your cowardice.

“i’ll relay your answer to his majesty and spread rumors about your untimely death so the people will give up on the coup.” jimin stands up, nodding once but just as he passes you, another sigh escapes your lips. your chest is heavy.

“wait.” your voice is unmissable.

you crane your neck to meet the knight’s gaze, “come back in a few days and i’ll give you my final answer.”

the corners of his lips twitches and you think you see the jimin you’ve come to know and fought along side come to surface. but it’s hard to tell now that you know he’s a man of many faces.

“very well.” and with that he takes his leave.

the next ten minutes was spent with jungkook mixing and tasting a pinch of his brewing concoction while you watch his back. realization hits you like a warm blanket in winter. his shoulders are broader and his arms appear stronger - muscled than that scrawny boy from across the streets. he used to run around carrying books half his size whenever be came back from school while you trained with your master in your front yard.

time’s changed but neither of you did.

or so you thought.

you wonder when he started developing feelings for you. was it that time when you saved him from a stray wolf in the forest? or was it when you handed him your first baked cookie that your mother actually put you up to?

either way, for you, it was on your 10th summer when you were lying under the tree shade. jungkook’s footsteps couldn’t have been louder but you ignored it and kept your eyes closed until you felt something tug on your hair. when you opened your eyes, the yellowish buttercup petals wave from your periphery. a ten year old jungkook had told you you looked pretty with a wildflower tucked over your ear.

the moment jungkook calls your name, you notice that the fire dancing underneath the couldron has faded into smolders, wisps of smoke hovering over the concoction.

the wizard is standing by the table now where jimin once sat, "since you're all better, do you want to get some fresh air?" he shoots you a smile that only jeon jungkook is capable of, "don't worry, i already put an enchantment over this area of the forest. the prince won't be able to find you even if he hired the best tracker as long as you remain within the spell's boundaries."

the moon isn't shy to shower you with its light, the sound of the woodland creatures and magifolks echoes from the hollows of the trees, almost as though celebrating your recovery.

your footsteps halt when you notice the familiar ruins on top of the hill where jungkook once proposed to you out of the sheer adrenaline after having slayed a dragon.

"is it wise to have your bat cave so close to the village? wouldn't the prince's men think of searching here at some point?" you wonder out loud, golden petals cushioning your landing as you plop down.

"of course they did." jungkook admits nonchalantly, joining you on the ground, "but they walked straight past the barrier - i mean, it's my barrier we're talking about."

you let out a short chuckle, a hand propped underneath your head as a makeshift pillow as you try to connect the dots of stars to form shapes.

"those groups of stars look like they make a sword." you point to somewhere on the east side of the skies.

his own hand enters your line of view when he begins pointing in the same direction as you or something next to the alleged sword, "and that's a wand - could it be the ones the prince took from us?"

"that's literally stars that somewhat look aligned." you state, deadpanned, "the whole skies are full of wands then."

jungkook's hand shoots down almost instantly. with a stolen glance, you affirm the sure pout on his lips as he mumbles out, "what's wrong with a gazillion of wands in the skies?"

"absolutely nothing." you find yourself smiling, eyes fluttering shut as you focus on the night breeze that brushes against your skin.

it’s after awhile that you feel a soft tug on your hair. a deja vu feeling overcomes you when you see the petal in the corner of your eye and jungkook lying on his side instead of his back like when your last saw him. a delicate smile adorns his features as he plucks another flower off the stalk and places it gently in your hair just above your hairline.

“these are...” you trail off, recalling the spot where the dragon lied motionless after you’d slayed it.

“they started popping out of the ground like mushrooms while i was harvesting the dragon’s heart. how a death of something treacherous birthed something so pretty,” he supplies, still tucking flowers in your hair like it’s the most normal thing to do.

“jungkook,” you murmur softly, almost sounding like a fifteen year old damsel in love, “do you mean it? when you proposed to me?”

stars begin to burst in those eyes of his as they widen,“of course, i’ve fallen for you with every fiber of my body. i wish to spend my entire life with you.”

it takes you a moment to gather your thoughts and your composure but you can’t help clearing your suddenly dry throat, “you do know if i decide to lead the riot and become empress, we can’t be together, right?”

his gaze quivers at your words. supposedly, he hasn’t considered the implications the way you did.

“not everyone has what you have,” his voice is strained, hand drawn to his side now, “and if you choose to lead the riot, and if we succeed - i know we will - i won’t mind staying by your side as the royal wizard.” he finally says but adds hesitant doubt, “if you’ll have me.”

“i didn’t ask to be born by a slayer father who stopped coming home and a devastatingly loyal mother who decided to become a housewife when she got pregnant with her partner’s child,” you bear no ill intention to either of your parents - but it’s times like these, you wonder about the what-ifs, had you been born to normal human parents, had you been an ordinary girl who jungkook would have met on an ordinary day and perhaps still fall in love with you, “after all these years, i’m still that child. unable to turn the tides of my own fate.”

jungkook doesn’t say a word, and when you steal a glance at him, he doesn’t look at you either. his gaze is lowered and his mouth clamped together in suppression of words he dare not say. though darkness blankets the sky, the truth is clear as day-

“we could run away, you and i,” you offer, the lump in your throat no more than the feeling of having your neck pinched, “but you want me to save the empire’s future from falling during the prince’s reign. and you don’t mind losing me or at least having just a part of me to obtain that.”

the reality-stricken expression making its way to his face is telling enough. your heart writhes in your chest, begging to be freed of all feelings and emotions you didn’t know you were pushing down until the first tear hits your cheek and your first sob forces him to look up.

“___...” jungkook murmurs your name like the words of a withered poem. beautiful because it’s torn.

“i wish you would fight for me,” you push yourself up, buttercups raining down on you and pooling in your lap while some falls back to the ground, “just once, i wish you would see more as the slayer you partnered up with to bring down the reign of the dragons that threatens to ruin your beloved empire.”

yet you still let him hold you, one hand on your the back of your head and the other on your waist, whispering empty words that somehow comforts you, “it’s okay, it’s okay.” he says.

but nothing is, as you weep over his love.

you’d received an overflow of it even before he’d told you, but it was never enough.

it takes three whole months of preparing for the seize. half of the countries have shown their explicit support, sending their troops at your request - or rather, jimin’s handwritten letter on your behalf. estuaria’s falcon had just arrived half an hour ago and the knight is announcing yet another addition to the countries supporting your future rule.

“do we really need that many men to seize the capital?” you say from your seat, facing the doorway where you can see every single face that walks through and halt in hesitance when notice you, “jungkook and i can take them on by ourselves, like the old days.”

the wizard shoots up from five seats away, chest puffed, arms crossed over his chest, “i can take them all myself!”

“yes, yes sure you can.” jimin acknowledges, not bothering to look up from the estuaria’s king’s letters, “but the army is necessary to honor the support of our allies.”

when he’s like that, you know not to argue with him - everything goes in one ear and out the other. you’re a mere pawn to the larger scheme of things. and you like it that way. if fate wanted you to have the throne, you would regardless of whether you tried to reach for it or not.

jungkook has been by your side through it all. unlike you, he actually knows what’s going on - even though he has to fight jimin for the information half of the time.

come to think of it, there’s never a dull moment with the two - there’s always something they’d be arguing about and one or both would eventually turn to you for the final say. the one who’s opinion got backed up by you would sport a victorious smirk and the sore loser would have to finally admit defeat.

naturally, you side with jungkook because jimin, though your loyal supporter and master mind, is still the emperor’s dog. you had to make it hard for him to get his plan through just because you’re still bitter about the fact that he’d set you up to walk into a trap that maims your right arm. it sustained the most injury and where dark magic melded into your flesh and rendered your good fighting hand as close to a human’s.

you’re learning how to wield a sword with your left hand but it’s taking some time. jimin assured you that he’d protect you and stay by your side during the siege that’s about to take place in a week. but you know it’s more about getting a rise of out jungkook.

and it did but there’s something in the way the wizard would whip out his wand and the burst of stars in his eyes, that tells you jungkook might have taken the jest a little too personally. you may have fallen back into your old habits as though neither admitted their feelings for the other, but there are traces here and there that would disrupt the semblance of normality that you and jungkook have.

when the day of the seize comes, all you remember is walking towards the throne without so much as a soul barring your way. jimin being the head knight had told his men to stay down. some tried to rebel but before they can even get to you, the men from one of your allied countries took them down. you did hear of prince hoseok’s escape to wofren a few days later, the king himself offering to send him back when he showed up demanding for protection.

jimin had dropped on one knee, an arm propped on the other while his free hand lies on his chest where his heart would be, “long live the empress, slayer of dragons and sovereign of men.”

you barely register the emperor’s knights falling to their knees in suit as well as your own men, repeating the words jimin had said.

one year later, you ended up learning all the bouts of governing an empire all the while wearing the crown on your head. conquered a few more countries until the empire stretched almost throughout the whole continent. you’re currently at war with askana, the last standing kingdom in the continent.

many have tried to challenge your power but failed and askana will too. your lieutenant general and appointed-upon-crowning grand duke, had thwarted every enemy that so much as thought about assassinating you. sometimes, you get a little surprise served to you in a false pretense of health-restoring green tea.

“hold her down!” jimin’s voice clamors throughout the tent when you’d dropped the tea cup, letting it roll on the ground and hit his feet within the span of less than a minute. your throat sears as you begin to cough. splatters of blood dotting the porcelain white saucer.

“please! i had no choice!” leslie, the maid you’d grown fond to and brought along to serve you on the battlefield, pleaded from a few feet away, your men gripping her arms on both sides, “they have my son hostage- they said they’d kill him if i didn’t serve you the poison, your majesty!”

“pray tell,” jimin says through gritted teeth as leslie’s cries fall into a hushed silence as soon as he points his sword on the woman’s throat, “who are these fools that dare use cheap textbook tricks against the empress?”

“you have got,” you croak, in between chuckle and the burning sensation in your throat, “to stop calling me that.”

it takes a solid, defying moment of jimin’s back turned on your, his eyes probably drilling holes inside leslie’s weeping face before he sighs, shoulder line slacking as he sheathes his sword.

“send word to the royal wizard to come to the battlefield immediately and keep the traitor with the war prisoners until i decide how to extract information from her.” and with that, leslie’s shrill echoes into the sky from feet away as they dragged her out. you didn’t really notice when it stopped.

“go easy on her, will you? she didn’t ask to get her son kidnapped just because i chose her as my personal maid to escort me to war.” you’re almost certain that your words are slurred as you lean back against the cushioned chair brought here from the castle, not bothering to wipe off the ghastly sight of your bloodied chin and neck.

“you’re too kind for someone who’s wheezing for air in order to live.” the way his voice sounds closer and the fact that you feel his hands on your cheek serves as a reminder that the poison is kicking in - you didn’t even realize you have your eyes shut.

“look at me,” the general orders - you would have teased him about ordering the empress if not for the the furrowed brows, worry-contorted face of his, “stay awake and keep your eyes on me!”

it’s the way jimin’s voice rises that jolts your fluttering eyes to wakefulness. you can feel your lips twitching into a smirk, “you dare... raise your voice at the empress? come to think of it... it’s the first time...”

in the end, you couldn’t keep your eyes open.

when you come to, it was the darkened roof of the tent that greets you instead of the the familiar artful ceiling of your chambers. when you first moved into the royal chambers the color schemes felt far too bright and cheerful but a somberly realized how you longed for shades that aren’t black, red and amber like the fires on the torches that wave - laugh at your pathetic state. and perhaps, that was what helped fill your senses and you begin to hear the voices around you.

“lay back down, ___, you’re not fully healed yet.” jungkook is on your side in to no time, hand on your shoulder, coaxing.

you slip on the fresh embroidered royal jacket folded on the table next to the bed, consequently making him pull his hand away as you pretend like you didn’t see the flash of hurt cross over his eyes, “how long have i been out?”

“a few hours and quite frankly not enough time for your body to flush the poison out fully.” he gripes, brows coming together in distress.

“haven’t you heard, jungkook? one cannot have peace longer than the neighbor pleases,” you groan when the sensation of knives piercing every part of your body begin to spread through you. for one, wishful moment, you wanted to take back your words and slip into that stone-forged bed even if it meant waking up with a sore body tomorrow.

“you can’t go to war in that state either.” he steps in front of you, arms crossed over his chest. over the year, he’s gotten strict when it comes to you exerting yourself.

but you’re not a god damn empress for nothing.

you pat his shoulder, squeezing it tight enough to say, don’t worry. and walk past him, stopping just behind rainfly separating your private room from the larger quarter of the dome where your war ministers seem to be engaged in a heated discussion.

“it’s inevitable. we must ride at dawn,” sir huguard looks to jimin, “you must lead the army, general.”

“don’t be ridiculous! they’ll know something is up if we go to war without her majesty.” the son of the viscount had always been your loyal follower, “besides, the men fight better when the sovereign is there to give orders.”

“there is no doubt, the empress has been leading us to victory since the first war,” sir kim concurs with a heavy exhale, eyes scanning over the red dots on the map where the berserkers, archers and fighters are set to be positioned, “but we are the empress’ silver squires. it would be an insult to her majesty if we can’t even handle force such a tiny kingdom. what do you say, general park?”

jimin, upon having his name being called, lets a smirk slip onto his face, causing the knights to sit straighter, “i say we ask the empress herself - though personally, i know her majesty would never sit a war down even at the brink of death. you’re as stubborn as a mule, you know, your majesty?”

at that, you push the rainfly apart, meeting your ministers’ perplexed gazes one after the other. jungkook on your side.

“boys,” you grin, hands planted on both sides of your hips, “let’s give them a taste of hell.”

you won the war - naturally, you would win the war. but it wasn’t a one man show. the silver squires and jimin got your back all the way through the enemy’s fortress. the king of askana was a proud one. he didn’t beg for his life as your men forced him to his knees in front of you.

he had your respect. you’d made his death a quick one. made sure the ministers watched with their own eyes. so they knew not to play cheap tricks on you like poisons and kidnapping your maid’s son.

leslie was banished from the capital - you couldn’t save her beloved son. that’s what war does to people. to choose the greater interest of your men and sticking to the plan, knowing by then, they’d have figured she’d failed to kill you and killed her son.

but with every war you win, you can feel yourself losing the human part in you. so you turn to work even more.

“you could always segregate it, you know?” jungkook offers, falling into pace as you begin to make your way down the hall where footmen and guards bow, not batting an eye at the way you ungracefully tug on the low neckline of your dress. only when you are at war, are you free from the confines of these laces and layers of clothing, “jimin told me you’ve been hoarding the paperwork to yourself. it’s not healthy.”

“i chose to be empress so i should be a good one. segregating my work makes me feel out of touch with my line of obligations.” you say simply, noticing how the wizard’s shoulder line stiffens the way they would every time you mention your alleged willing choice. you ruffle your hair, as though it’ll rub away the nagging feeling in your stomach, “look i’ve already got jimin breathing down my neck about work. can we please, talk about something else?”

“well, sure if you’ve finally decided to change your career, we can always talk about datura, mandrakes and nightshades.”

“something besides magical herbs and my working too much.” you lament, head thrown back.

“your mother and sisters are doing fine,” he offers, “i visited them a week ago - they said nobles would come to the village just to see the empress’ family see why they’re not living with the empress. but of course, your mother’s reply always makes them leave with empty cups of teas and a sour face.”

“that sounds just like her.” you find yourself smiling at the thought of your mother’s catty comments when the nobles have finally used up all her patience to get what they can out of the savage-turned-royalty empress.

when the doors to your office swings open at your arrival, you’re half-surprised to see jimin, hunched over your desk underneath the piles of paperwork, trying to go through the wordings of one by one.

“speak of the devil.” your smile widens into an amused grin.

jimin prefers the battlefield compared to books and reading. when he sees you, a look of relief settles over his features before his eyebrows furrow, as though remembering something. he turns to the wizard next to you with full intention to place the blame on him depending on what answer said wizard gives him, “i thought you were going to convince her to take a day off.”

“no- well, yes- i was going to but we kept walking and talking and well - here we are.” jungkook fumbles with his words, choosing no sure route to take it when jimin’s hard stare is boring into him.

“you had one job and you failed.”the pressure at the end causes the wizard’s shoulder line to quiver.

over the year, jimin’s become quite the lieutenant general and a master an instilling fear into everyone he intends to.

you thought with the two’s long history, jungkook would be immune the way you are but seeing as he’s been coming and going what with his search for a herb that could once and for all drain out the dark magic inside you, you suppose he’s missed the parts where jimin adopted the name of the grim reaper around the castle.

“move, you’re in my seat.” you sigh, stepping forward and making sure to shield jungkook from the general’s sight.

luckily for you, jimin obliges. pushing the chair back and standing next to it with his arms clasped over his back, shoulder line straight and chin tilted the way a royal lieutenant general would stand.

“this is quite good, you got half of the things i needed to do, done.” you praise, not missing the proud smile twitching on his lips as you went over the replies he wrote for the diplomatic trade between the capital and askana. “though i wouldn’t say a straight out no to a future declaration of independence.”

and just like that, the smile drops into a hard frown. and because of the structure of his lips, it looks like he’s pouting heavily, “what do you mean? they’ve only been under our reign for five months and they’ve already had the audacity to ask for independence. it insults the essence of the sovereign - the young king could be beheaded for being so brazen.”

the son of the late king of askana whose life you took had taken the throne at a young age upon his father’s death. and just like his father, he had that spark in him. a mark of a true leader who isn’t afraid of going against an infamous sovereign.

you can’t help but suppress a smirk at the way jimin’s composure completely falling, almond eyes growing wide as he uses his hands to express his heightened displeasure towards the newly conquered country’s king, “and you propose bringing the head askana’s king to me and painting me a savage empress in the eyes of the world would do us good?”

at that, his lips clamp shut.

“as if the image of an empress who slays dragons aren’t daunting enough.” you add as an afterthought, glancing up at the other person in the room who’s been silently watching, “wouldn’t you say so, wise neighborhood wizard?”

“oh,” his eyes go wide at the word that he would often use years ago, as though not expecting to hear it, “well, yes. indeed, there is still a stigma going around a dragon slayer sovereign because of the unequal standings of powers and abilities to conquer lands.��

“your majesty,” jimin presses, the look he gives you almost makes you want to cower away in fear of a series of chiding but what he says next is completely unexpected, “your men are proud to serve such a strong sovereign like yourself. i ask you not to undermine yourself for the sake of appealing to mere cowards.”

“that’s, well,” you stammer for words, “quite deep, general. i was simply implying for you not go for askana’s king’s head, is all.”

with that, you begin to shift through the papers, cheeks burning from his raw honesty, devastatingly unaware of the wizard silently observing your interaction. not because he didn’t have anything to say, but because of the invisible line drawn over your desk between you and him.

it is sometime before the amber and orange rays of the sun peeks from the horizon, after a whole night of reviewing the documents and signing papers that needed your personal permissions, do you finally allow yourself to leave the walls of your office. your right arm is beginning to sore from the overuse - its condition have been deteriorating faster with every poison that entered your body, willingly or not.

yet you still find yourself in the throne room. the elven sword you’d managed to regain upon the siege sits over your head on the wall behind you. at times like these, when there were no guards or servants to watch you pathetically try to hold it with your right hand, do you let yourself curse and cry all at once.

the sword hits the ground with an clang, the echoes almost sounding like chortles of mockery.

when you try to pick it up, another hand covers yours that’s on the handle and you’re looking into the cosmos trapped inside a pair of eyes.

jungkook heaves out a sigh. gaze lowering to the luminous metal of the sword, “just hold on a little longer - i’ll find the cure and extract the dark magic from your body completely.”

“take your time - i still have several good years ahead of me.” you say yet you switch hands, your left one lifting the handle like it’s made of feather and sheathing it. your turn your back on him in an attempt to not let him see your puffed eyes and cheeks.

“does jimin know how bad it’s getting?” his question rings throughout the room.

“he doesn’t and i hope to keep it that way,” you shake your head, shoulder line falling.

after whole solid moment of the two of you basking in the silence out of having nothing to talk about, you finally break it, “i’m thinking of making him my marriage prospect - not the emperor but a husband. otherwise, the idea of being crown prince or princess would get over our child’s head.”

jungkook doesn’t say anything for the longest moment. you almost thought he apparated into thin air but you know he’s still here - you can feel his presence.

“when i decided to love you - despite the prophecy, i decided to love you regardless of what you choose.” the zeal in his voice is missing and the fire in your heart rages.

the lower part of your untied robe fluttering as you twirl on your feet to face him. vision blurred with tear but you can still make out the outline of his rounded eyes and fallen jaw.

“i don’t want any of this!” the shrill of your scream tears through the high roof of the hall room. “can’t you see? all i did - it was because i couldn’t have you. i walked a slayer’s path because my mother wanted a part of her husband to live within me and when i finally found something i wanted - someone i thought i could spend my life with, that someone pushed the crown upon my hands. and i became the empress because you and the people wanted me to.”

you grip onto the silver carvings of the royal dragon that guards the throne.

“you and i both know we can’t be together,” he shakes his head, “dragon slayers and wizards are destined to walk alongside each other but cross the other’s path and a time of the fallen shall rise again - all i can do is continue to love you.”

it’s a prophecy as old as the world itself. yet wizards, especially, seem to have a knack for heeding fate’s alleged warnings.

“there have been dragon slayers and wizards before us - do you not think, if the world was going to fall into ruins, it would already have been, upon their unity?” you’ve never sounded so meek. so desperate, “why do we have to pay the price for a mere lore?”

jungkook takes one step closer to you only to stop mid action. as though there’s an invisible line drawn between the throne and the aisle he stands on. “it’s easy for you to say - only us wizards are burdened with the oath our ancestors made with fate in exchange for knowledge - knowledge you can’t even comprehend, ___. if you saw the things i see in my dreams-” unlike two years ago, he shakes his head. teeth trapping his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

this time, he can’t say it’s okay.

“and you have not seen what i saw in mine, jungkook.” you grit your teeth, “you haven’t been on the battlefield. fighting. driving your sword into someone’s son or daughter’s gut. these wars, the gruesome image that gets engraved in your head - they don’t go away.”

“we have our demons,” he tears his gaze from you to the ground, feet scuffing against the marble floor. as though he could see said demons crawling from the heat of your eyes if he continues to hold them, “we love each other so much but we have too many demons, ___.”

“that, we do.” you admit with a weary noise from the back of your throat, “do you think, if we’d eloped two years ago, we’d have less of those holding us back?”

“i can’t say for sure.” when he looks up, his eyes are brimming with tears, threatening to spill over and taint his flushed cheeks. “but perhaps, fate would have been kinder to us.”

“perhaps.” you echo, your own tears have already dried out.

jungkook bows, the sniffle escaping him shattering your heart. you want nothing more than to run to him and gather him in your arms. tell him it’s okay.

because your love and his was abundant.

but never enough.

(in the end, you find yourself in your throne, legs hugged to your chest, neck craned over your knees, falling asleep to the quietness before morning breaks.)

you still hear news of jungkook from time to time. he’s been traveling far and wide, aiding the needy, healing the weak with the light magic he’d obtained after a conquest with a group of companions he met along the way. that’s possibly one of the reasons that your image has gotten better throughout the empire. people who didn’t join the riot and know you personally, fear you less. you’ve been receiving more invitations to parties - even from the countries that supported the late emperor, not knowing that he was all-too-willing to hand over the throne to you.

and after a long, arduous series of pleading and begging from jimin, you finally segregate your work to your trusted ministries. with the surge of applications to join the royal army since the last five years, more captains have sworn their allegiance to you and subsequently, lifting jimin’s workload of training the recruits.

within that span of time, you’ve become legally married and closer than an empress and her war general. jimin smiles more now. though the years have molded his face with defined muscles and got rid of the baby fat, you still see the traces of the boyish knight you once fought alongside with in your younger days.

you train together from time to time, putting on a show for the new recruits.

“papa!” calista calls, seconds before her tiny figure escapes her governor’s hands and comes the pitter pattering towards jimin.

almost as though he sees nothing else but his daughter, he discards his sword to the ground, dropping on one knee to welcome the child into his arms. his chime-like chuckle fills the vicinity. you catch the lowest coo from some of the recruits watching from the sidelines - mostly the women whose attraction to your husband, doesn’t go unnoticed.

“’ista, what did i tell you about coming around here?” you sigh, sheathing your sword and gesturing for the colonels to continue the training.

“ask livie before i go anywhere near the training grounds.” calista mumbles, the pout no doubt inherited from her father while the fierce look in her eyes comes from you. even the deep ruby flecks of dark magic concentrated in her left eye that affected her since birth was from your blood. as a result, she never truly appears as though she understood why these rules were set out - even though you’d explained time and time again.

when you enter the hallway leading to the private royal wing with less prying eyes, you finally let a smile slip on your face. hand softly pinching calista’s cheeks. they remind you of jimin’s younger days.

“because...” you offer.

“it’s filled with weapons.” she mumbles out like a mantra but then she looks up, eyes bearing into you - you still need time to recover from the realization that the light in them once belong to you. “but mama, metal swords don’t hurt me! i have the scales of the dragons as skin!”

you’re about to contend that for the sake of arguing - with a four year old at that - before jimin’s chuckle reverberates against the walls,“she got you with that one, buttercup.”

he’d started calling you that on the first month after your engagement. when you brought him to the meadow of the aforementioned wildflowers blossom in full.

shooting jimin a warning gaze as to not show a difference in opinions, you finally relent when you notice your daughter’s observing gaze.

“for once, let me worry about you, ‘ista.” you let your shoulder line jolt as you cross your arms over your chest, your own pout forming on your lips.

it’s then, that you hear the rasp of a falcon and so does calista, confusing your human husband as both you and your daughter throw your gaze towards the artrium.

“what?” jimin asks a second before you raise your left hand up.

it takes another second for the falcon to land as calista squeals in delight at the majestic creature, tiny hands clapping in excitement.

“how have you been, orvelle?” you pat the bird’s head as it nuzzles into your touch, ignoring the jabs of needles from the slightest movement of your right arm.

“pretty birdy!” calista giggles, trying to stretch her whole body out of jimin’s arms to get to the falcon.

you chuckle, holding the domesticated bird closer once you untied the letter around its foot.

jimin set your daughter down with the bird on the bed when you reached your chambers while you take a sit at the round table a few feet away where tea sets and sandwiches were laid out by the maids.

“it’s from jungkook,” you announce, though the purple ribbon tied around orvelle’s neck is already telling enough of the sender’s identity. but jimin simply nods, sipping on his tea while he throws his eyes over the balcony where the blue skies stretch as far as the eye can see. “he thinks he’s found the antidote to getting rid of the black magic my and calista’s blood streams.”

jimin’s lips twitches into a smirk - the kind of impressed smirk that’s reserved only for his wizard nemesis. “so he finally did it.”

“he’ll be returning with his companions within three weeks.” you set the letter down in exchange for the tea that’s going cold.

“he couldn’t just zap his way here?” jimin scoffs.

“well, he could but one of them is a lich - they’re susceptible to magic and can’t apparate.” you inform, having remembered the fact from one of his messages to you through orvelle.

that’s how you kept in touch. and somehow, you were able to find peace and bleed your apology through letters and receive the same amount of remorse from the wizard’s reply.

“what a bunch, he’s gathered.” the man across from you lets out a low chuckle, a somewhat proud smile adorning his lips.

then, he steals a glance at you, “what about you? are you going to be alright?”

you hum, setting the cup in the middle of the intricate golden-green tendrils that stretches around the edge of the saucer, “we’ve said our piece and kept in touch through letters. if anything, i’m excited for the three of us to gather again, aren’t you?”

looking up, you feel your chest lighten as you shoot a smile at the man. but his smiling lips has turned into a troubled pout.

jimin pushes his hair back, those tresses falling back over his face perfectly. “i can’t say i am - not when my wife used to be in love with the wizard.”

the surprised look on your face must have been the reason for him to throw you an incredulous look, “come on, you didn’t think i’d welcome him with all smiles and hugs, do you?”

“jimin,” you say after a lingering gaze of your child’s pitter pattering form around the balcony as she tries to catch the bird hovering just inches from her fingers. eyebrows knitting together, you finally meet the aforementioned man’s gaze, “i had a child with you.”

“didn’t stop the empress of the west from taking five husbands at the same time.” he points out, almond shaped eyes going round with every heat the argument supplies, “nor did the king of kasken.”

the burst of laughter tumbles out of you from mouth like bells, so much so, you have to clasp a hand over your stomach while your husband mopes, clearly taking offense for you laughing over a serious concern - for him.

calista, having heard your fit, pads over and instantly gets picked up by you, setting her on your lap while she glances between you with confusion, “mama? papa?”

“’ista, what do you suggest we get papa for his birthday next month?” you smile down at your daughter.

“a birdie!” she claps, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“that’s what you want - we’ll get you a whole zoo, ‘ista, i promise.” you boop her nose, making her scrunch it, eyes blinking, smile glued to her lips as she throws her hand up in celebration of her birthday.

“now,” you sneak a peek at jimin’s pursed lips before averting your gaze to your child as you talk to her, “for papa, how about we conquer the winter kingdom? or slay a dragon and have uncle koo harvest its heart and turn it into an everlasting light source? or should we-”

“alright,” jimin huffs, elbows propped on his thighs as he pretends to cover his bashfulness with a cough, “enough with the discussion of showing your affection through extravagant gifts.”

“go give papa a kiss, ‘ista.” you whisper in your daughter’s ears before setting her down and watching as she pads her way around the table, hands stretching out for her blushing father who obliges anyway.

“i love you, papa.” the first hint of smile graces jimin’s lips when calista pecks him on his cheek, shoulder line vibrating from a suppressed chuckle.

you watch with a smirk of your own, how the spine-chilling general melts when his daughter comes into the world.

“i don’t say it but me too, you know.” you murmur nonchalantly, taking a bite out of the sandwich.

and just like that, jimin’s pout returns, “’ista, papa is still sad because mama hasn’t said she loves me.”

“i-i do! i just said it.” you stammer in the presence of calista’s round eyes that’s boring into yours. if she’d gotten the fire from you, then she’d definitely gotten the puppy from jimin.

your husband fakes a sniffle, chin rested on your daughter’s head so she couldn’t see the devilish smile that forms on his lips that he’s fixing you with. “you have to spell it out.”

“mama?” calista calls a second later of you eyeing jimin accusingly.

your shoulders sag as you relent, clearing your throat as you feel your cheeks burn, “i-i adore you - both of you.” you watch as calista’s round eyes continue staring, not quite equating adore with love but jimin’s eyes are already beginning to curve into crescent moons.

“i love you too.” jimin divulges, for a warlord, he’s never shy from expressing his feelings.

maybe that’s why it was easy to open your heart to him when you actually started looking away from the boy you grew up with started looking at the man you won’t mind growing old with.

“me too, mama!” calista jumps in her father’s lap, lips fixed into a grin, “i love you!”

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