The Law of Inertia {YOONMIN}

Chapter Four

Jimin wakes up the morning after the storm with a sore thigh. The warm sun glares down at him through his window. Seokjin was seemingly nowhere to be found, and Jungkook was gone from the chair he'd taken guard in the night before. A platter of tea sat on his vanity. He sits up, sleep shirt pooling at his hips. Hair amuck as his reflection stares over at him.

Today, he decides, he will go down to the garden. See the pretty oranges and reds of the forest contrast against the evergreens a bloom around ancient statues, from the times before the castle had even been built. So he slides out of bed, stripping himself. Tight bottoms, an old button up shirt of his fathers that Seokjin had sewn pretty golden threaded designs into. A lovely fur trimmed cloak bracing his shoulders.

His tea is cold by the time he is ready, so he leaves it. Jungkook is not by his door either, so he assumed his mother had sent the young knight to rest. The floor was cold against his bare feet, boots hanging over his arm. Jimin trails down one flight of stairs, two, three. Sliding down the banister of the fourth with practiced ease. Smiling when he reached the garden doors.

He used to visit the garden frequently, telling Jungkook to sneak in over the wall when their parents payed them no mind. There, the two would play tag, muffling their laughter from the maids who came in search of Jimin. As they had gotten older, tag morphed into just discussions on swings and benches or the occasional cloud watching. They both found joy in it, after all, they were bestfriends.

Jungkook enjoyed telling stories and Jimin enjoyed listening to them. Stories of wolves that turned into humans, or rather the other way around. Tales of soul mates, and fairies, goblins and mermaids. All Jimin had to offer was tales his maids had told him. The ones about their children, and husbands and wives. Tales of far away lands, old homes. Places he wished to visit.

"Soulmates...,- do you believe in them?"

"Oh, no, my Pa is has been off his rocker for a while," Jungkook laughed, "But it's a nice thought isn't it?"

Jimin looks away, some spark dying in his eyes.

He pushed the garden door open, walking out onto a cobblestone walk way. It was a royal garden, and rightfully so. Roses and lilies of different hues and colors filled brick planters all across the plush, green grass. Wisteria climbed up the stone walls, it being the one thing the garden staff failed to tend to. Jimin did not mind, though. He enjoyed the unruliness it added to the garden. The cherry blossom trees bloomed, decorating the atmosphere with pink and white petals. He had never loved trade more than when they got those trees. At the time, he was still young, maybe thirteen. All they had to do was trade a few pelts, and boom,- they got three almost fully grown trees from Japan.

Jimin smiled lightly as he walked, tossing his boots to the floor to move barefoot through the grass. It was still moist from the prior night's rain, the water beneath his feet was the only reminder that it had rained at all. There was not a cloud in the sky that day. Only open blue, and a beaming sun.

Just as he was about to take a deep breath to fully indulge himself into the scenery, he heard a whine. It was not human, nay, but instead it sounded like,- a dog?

The thought of such a thing being in his garden excited him, making his head snap in the direction of the noise. "Puppy?" He called, lightly jogging towards the sound. "Puppy? Where are you?"

There was a series of whimpers that turned into a snarl as Jimin rounded the corner. A large dog,- a wolf possibly, that was almost as large as he was, laid on its side next to a hedge. It silver fur sparkling in the light, blood pouring from an open wound on one of its hind legs. A bloody arrow on the ground next to it.