Forest Of The Dark

"And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul." Unknown.

"I came to see you."

Jimins's eyes grew wider as he restated what the King said in his mind. "M-me?" he mumbled in a small voice. "Why?

Yoongi nervously rubbed the back of his neck and approached him, avoiding his eyes. "Hoseok and Namjoon kept bothering me to come apologize to you. They can be very insisting."

"Oh? Apologize for what, your Majesty?"

Yoongi sighed and lifted his head to let him stare at his sapphire blue eyes. "For being rude to you." he answered. "You were a stranger to me and I couldn't trust you easily, this is how I am."

Jimin smiled. "I understand." he said. "You've been through a lot and I get why you don't trust just anyone."

The King nodded and kept staring at him confusingly, like he was feeling bad for acting rudely toward such an innocent creature like him.

"Jimin, are you alright? I sent you to bring my robe and you got l-" Taehyung widened his eyes when he spotted the King in front of the mansion. "Your Majesty?"

"Good morning." Yoongi said.

"It is...very strange to see you here." the Elf chuckled nervously.

"Oh, yes I was just passing by." the King lied, avoiding Jimin's stare.

"Well now that you are here, I would like to invite you inside." Taehyung smiled. "Come in please."

"I am actually busy, maybe another t-" Yoongi didn't have time to finish his words when Jimin gently grabbed his arm. "Please, your Majesty. Stay with us for a moment." he said with a sweet voice the older couldn't resist.

The black-haired sighed and nodded. "Alright then."

Jimin's eyes were sparkling as the King stepped inside Vulas.

"Prepare us some tea, please." the Elf asked his servant.

Taehyung prefered that they settle outside in the large garden that could be seen from the large windows of the library. He invited the King to sit on a large golden chair while he sat near Jimin in front of him.

"It has been a long time since I last saw you in the village." the long-haired said.

"I know." the King sighed. "I practically don't leave the castle."

"Why not?" Jimin pouted.

"I don't know." Yoongi shrugged. The King grieved on the inside, but believed that he hid his sorrow from everyone. He was one of those creatures you can read easily just by seeing the color of his eyes or his movements. However, no one dared mention it to him. He knew that some could know his emotions but he tries to forget it and hide his sadness because he thinks that his position as ruler demanded a look of complete confidence and control.

"Your tea, my Lord." the servant, Karlyle placed the silver tray on the small glass table.

"Thank you." Taehyung smiled.

The King felt comfortable around the Elf, five years have passed and he still couldn't stop blaming himself for Kythaela's death. He knew Taehyung really loved his sister, they were inseparable since they were children, they lived all the good experiences together and knew each other better than anyone. Before marrying her, Yoongi had to promise his friend that he will take good care of his sister and always protect her no matter what happens. But he failed.

"Your Majesty." Taehyung broke the silence. "There is no need to feel bad when you are around me." he gave him a small smile. "The past is the past, maybe it is time for us to move on."

"You are right." Yoongi nodded. "Too many years and I am still not able to forget, it's killing me."

Jimin stared at them sadly, he felt bad because he wasn't there for them when they needed comfort. He wished he could have discovered this world before, he wished he could be a part of their life five years ago to help them and never let their friendship break.

"I know." Taehyung sighed and stared at the King. "I really miss our old days."

"Me too."

Jimin wanted to make the environment happier so he stood up and clapped his hands. "Then, how about you start hanging up with the others like you did before?" he smiled. "I am sure you will feel better this way."

The Elf smiled. "You are right Jimin, we should let go of the painful memories and start making beautiful ones. What do you think, your Majesty?"

The black-haired nodded slowly. "Maybe we should try, yes."

They spent the entire morning in the garden, drinking their tea and talking about all the things they did in the past. Jimin was more than excited to hear their old adventures; like when they used to sneak out of the palace at night to go on a picnic in the forest and come back in the morning to face the late King and get scolded; they used to play with the unicorn's horns until they annoy them and get chased by them. They told him a lot of funny and stupid things they used to do until he couldn't control his laughter anymore.

A few hours passed and it was time for Yoongi to come back to the castle.

"It was very nice to talk to you again." Taehyung said when they were in front of the portal.

The King just smiled and gently bowed to him before heading outside.

"Your Majesty!" Jimin followed him running and grabbed his arm. "Wait." he said with a breathless voice.

"What is it?" Yoongi asked, trying not to look at his red cheeks.

"Will you come back?" the diamond-haired asked, making the King stare at him surprisingly. "Please come back to see us."

The older put his hand on his to get it away from his arm in a gentle way. "I don't know Diamond, I don't know." he mumbled quietly before leaving.

????

Two weeks. Jimin has been waiting for him to come back during two weeks.

He would spend his days staring through the windows, hoping he would appear but it was hopeless.

He grew very fond of the King, especially because he knows he hides his real self behind a dark mask. He grew very curious about him, he feels like he wants to know more good things about him, he finds him quite mysterious and interesting.

"Jimin, I have a meeting right now, I will come back later." Taehyung said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Alright, your grace." the younger bowed. "I will be waiting for you."

"As usual." the Elf smiled and gently kissed his temple.

The young boy stayed alone again, he was bored, he didn't know what to do so he headed to the library.

He spent most of his time reading while Taehyung attended meetings or accompanied his fellow elves to the archery field. Since he came to Fantasia, he must have read at least five or six books. He is known to be a fast reader, he can finish a book in a day if he had plenty of free time.

It was time for him to choose another one to read. The library shelves are tall and close together, forming mazes where he sometimes plays when he gets bored. Now they are his escape. Walking between them is like coming home, he memorized their scent: dust and wisdom, paper and creativity, ink and emotion. He ran his fingers of the spine of each book, seeing which cover will attract him the most this time.

He lifted his head to stare at all the books surrounding the walls, he then decided to pick one from above.

He climbed the stairs to be welcomed by big dusty books. Most of them were about Elves or other creatures, he understood it must be a special section to discover more about the ones living in Fantasia.

Then, something caught his attention inside the shelve. Lights.

He gently pushed the velvet books and his eyes grew wider when he found one that emitted different colors; pink, blue, yellow, red...

He didn't hesitate to pick it and wipe the dust from its cover.

"Omnes Fere Emius." was written in large golden letters. From the little Latin he learned at high school, he could understand it meant, "All About Emius."

His heart beat faster as he held the large book against his chest and descended the stairs.

He sat on his chair and gently placed it on his knees, wondering if he should open it or not. The blaze of multicolored lights was dazzling, each color reminded him or Yoongi's eyes, those eyes he could never get out of his head.

He opened the first page and started reading.

"The Emius are the latest creatures which appeared only a hundred years ago after the War of Freedom. A pregnant woman drowned in the famous river Coloribus Conspiratus and drank its water. Months, she gave birth to the first creature whose eyes shifted to a different color depending on its emotions, he was called Zurith. When he grew up, the late Princess Illy fell for his charm and insisted on marrying him and making him her King. Years after, the Emius were only part of the royalty."

"Oh." Jimin was impressed by their origin, he then remembered the portraits he saw when he first went to the castle. Zurith must be the grey-haired male with shiny blue eyes whose portrait was the first to catch the attention.

He turned the page and found what he has been curious about since he met the King; the meaning of the colors.

There was a large frame drawn all along the page. Different colors occupied boxes with their meanings in the boxes on their right.

He took the small notebook Taehyung offered to him to write his stories and opened a new page to note the meaning of the colors so that he remembers them later.

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and lust.

He blushed at the last word, wondering if the King has been looking at Kythaela with these eyes.

Green means sympathy.

He then remembered when he sat with him that night, facing the moonlight and told him about all the bad things that happened to him in his world. He remembered his eyes shifting to green, which means he was touched by his story.

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, confidence, calmness, shyness and sadness.

This color is more confusing, he has seen it a lot of times but he couldn't remember when he was shy or sad.

White means sickness and fear.

He frowned, he hoped he would never see this color on the King's eyes.

Yellow means happiness.

This part hurt him more than it should because he has never seen this color before. Maybe it has been years since Yoongi's eyes shifted to yellow, years that he is drown only in sadness and depression.

Jimin added a little note next to this, "Make the King's eyes turn yellow."

He wanted his happiness.

Pink signifies romance and love.

Jimin smiled, he wished the King would someday find someone he could stare at with pink eyes.

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.

"Surely not my favorite colour now." he frowned after taking the last note.

He was feeling tired so he took the book and headed to his room to hide it in the wardrobe. He promised he would read every single page of it until he knows everything about the Emius. He wanted to understand the King better.

????

Taehyung was still not back from the meeting so he decided to go for a walk.

"Karlyle, if the Lord comes back please tell him I only went for a walk." he told the servant.

"Alright." the blue-eyed Elf smiled. "Be careful."

"I will!" Jimin smiled and left Velvus.

He walked in the village, greeting the few creatures he got to know thanks to Taehyung. They would offer him flowers, pendants and Gelatius because they thought he was of magnificent beauty.

He thanked them and kept walking, until he stopped in front of the colored river. "Red means anger." he whispered when the water turned completely red. "Yellow means happiness." he smiled, proud that he could already remember their meanings.

He thought about the King again, wondering if he was in the castle, still closed in his study, not talking to anyone and barely eating anything.

He looked at the sky, it was still sunny so he decided to visit the castle. He didn't care if he gets rejected or not, he wanted to go at least to see his friends Hoseok and Namjoon.

He left the village and took the road, he and Taehyung walked in when they were coming back from there weeks ago.

It was a large field covered with flowers he has never seen before.

He walked until he could spot the big castle from a far. The towers stood majestically in front of the mountain, their black color making it look so mysterious like its owner.

He stopped when he realized he didn't know from where to go to cross the river. He didn't remember if he had to walk through the forest or there was another way.

He stood there, thinking about what he should do.

"Go to the forest."

Jimin jumped from surprise when the voice spoke in his mind once again.

"You again?" he sighed.

"Go to the forest."

Jimin turned and started walking toward the giant trees. He thought the voice was always right, it always guided him to the right places so he thought about following it again. "Are you sure it's from here?" he asked, too scared to walk alone in the empty woods.

"Go to the forest."

"Alright, alright." he rolled his eyes.

As he stepped inside, the sunlights started to disappear gradually. The paths that were illuminated just a few seconds before became lost in a blackness that even moonlight cannot help. "What is happening?" he mumbled as a cold breeze caressed his skin. The trees that are magnificent in sunshine towered over Jimin as he stepped across the borderline between the seen and unseen. The air was several degrees cooler and soon he began to shiver. On his frequent stops, Jimin listened for signs of life around him, but there came none. Back in Velvus such a silence would be tranquil, but out here it is more like the quiet of the graveyard.

What was more surprising and scary was that this time his hair couldn't enlighten the paths. It was like its power had no effect in the middle of this mysterious forest. He could barely see anything while walking. Je crossed his arms to warm up his body, "What is going on..." he mumbled.

Suddenly, a scary noise sounded, making his heart stop. He couldn't know what it was since he couldn't see anything. It was the first time he found himself in the complete darkness. "W-what is this?" he cried. He heard crackling tree leaves and saw a shadow walking around him. His hands were shaking with fear as well as his legs. He rubbed his hair plenty of times, hoping they would light up but it didn't work out.

He gasped when he felt something hard clinging to his feet, trapping them as hard until he couldn't move them anymore. "Someone h-help me!" he shouted.

The strange creature wrapped around his body, gently like a snake sneaking in search of his new prey. He felt it against his stomach, making him groan with pain. "N-no!" He tried to defend myself but it was stronger and smarter. It wrapped around his neck, tightly making him out of breath. "S-stop!" he gasped and tried take it off from his neck but his small hands couldn't compare to the large creature's body.

He couldn't feel his legs anymore, he was out of breath. He thought maybe it was his end, maybe he was fated to die in his world, maybe that voice brought him here because he doesn't deserve to live more days.

He felt bad because he didn't say goodbye to Taehyung, the beautiful Elf who lightened his days with his charming smile. He also regretted not sending letters to his friends, the Wizard and the Healer, and most importantly, to Yoongi. The King was the reason why he had to take this dangerous path, he wanted to see him so badly that he came alone.

The mysterious creature left a kind of sticky liquid that burned his skin. He couldn't even scream in horror as it sucked up all the energy he had in his body.

"S-save me." those were his last words before he lost consciousness.

????