sɴᴏᴡᴛᴀᴇ│ᴛᴋ [reposting]

.xɪᴠ.

Jin had finally decided to open the door to the office, determined to get to the bottom of Namjoon's distraught state. He gasped at the sight of the room which had somehow turned into a huge mess. Stacks of books and layers of paper swarmed the floor. Drowning in a tsunami of musty parchments, the man he was looking for was gripping a magnifying glass like a shipwrecked sailor holding on to his raft for dear life. "The answer is probably right in front of me, but why can't I see it?"

Jin was not having any of this nonsense. "Honey. We need to talk."

"Sure. But first, let me go through these one more time. I must have missed something. A clue or whatnot."

"Certainly not. We must talk now."

A discombobulated Namjoon finally made his way to the dining room, where the others were waiting.

Jungkook was sitting at the end of the table, eyes vacant, face pallid. Taehyung had left several days ago and no one had heard of him since. After beating himself up for letting him journey alone, Jungkook's mind had gone numb. He had been resentful at first, recalling the words of the hunter who had told him he would never leave. He then had begun doubting himself, questioning his own behaviour. Had he been too clingy? Had he misunderstood the meaning of the numerous kisses and warm cuddles they had exchanged? Had he had too high expectations for this budding relationship?

Now that he had given up on making sense out of the current circumstances, he was simply craving for one last touch, one last word, one last glance at the boy he had loved. This time, he would not miss the chance to tell him how precious he was to him.

Jin's solemn tone yanked him out of his brooding. "I believe it is urgent you inform us of what you know. Poor Kookie here has lost appetite over Taehyung's disappearance and frankly, we all would like to understand what is going on."

Namjoon took a deep breath before finally speaking up. "If my reasoning is right, and Taehyung is indeed royalty, then it is likely we have been challenged, again."

A shock wave rippled through the audience. "What do you mean by 'Taehyung is royalty'?"

"The peacock, the bow, the jewelled knife, the horse..."

What sounded like a list of random words made sense to no one but Namjoon whose brain worked at a faster pace than everyone else's. Thus the frustration he experienced every time he had to spell his thoughts out. "It's a white horse for crying out loud! Taehyung is a freakin' prince!"

Jungkook fell off his seat with a thump. Despite the pain in his rear end, he voiced objections. "Taehyung cannot be who you say he is. Who would inflict such severe beatings on a member of the royal family?"

The looks he received forced the youngster to provide some context. "I've seen his back. It was covered with scars."

"Only you would know," teased Hoseok.

"Hyung, seriously," scolded Jimin.

Jungkook's point, however, only confirmed Namjoon's hypothesis. "If what you say is true, then it is further proof that my conclusions are accurate. This has happened before."

"You suggest we've been challenged again? Would you mind elaborating?" Yoongi had acutely voiced their shared curiosity and concerns.

"A long time ago, we — the dwarves — have had to care for an abused princess. We were assigned the task to protect her. And if I recall correctly, we failed miserably. It's unfortunate I seem to have misplaced any account of that event. My archives are a bit — disorganized at the moment."