sɴᴏᴡᴛᴀᴇ│ᴛᴋ [reposting]

.xᴠɪ.

《 Now, you sway. 》

Those three words that had badly stung at first had now become surprisingly soothing. Lying on the dirty and hard mattress of the cramped cell, Taehyung had consoled himself to sleep, repeating them over and over in his mind. He wasn't sure why but he sensed they were a key to his past and could somehow unlock the secrets of his previous life. The one he had before meeting Anise... Could she have anything to do with his blatant amnesia? Taehyung had doubts. And plenty of questions. Yet there was no one around to provide him with answers.

As he drifted off to sleep, he didn't register the brouhaha of the struggle happening down the prison corridor until hurried footsteps stopped in front of his cell.

"C'est lui ?" [That's him?]

"Non ! Il était censé avoir les cheveux roses !" [No! He was supposed to have pink hair!]

What was it with his hair colour? Again? What did these people want in the end? Couldn't they just let him be? At least for now?

"Ouvre la porte, vite, qu'on vérifie." [Open the door, quick, so we can check.]

The clicking sound of keys being inserted in a lock had him confused. Were they trying to break into his cell? That didn't make the least bit of sense. This was a dream, for sure. He turned around on the squeaking bunk and briefly opened his eyes.

Two men dressed in black attire were staring at him. Taehyung promptly got up only to be met with a blow on his head.

🍎

"Kookie dear. Please do me this one favour and go into town."

If said Kookie had been anything but a dwarf, he would have shown teeth. "Why?" he grumbled instead.

"We're low on grains and supplies and I want to know if the Caravan will be here soon."

"Why don't you go then?"

Jin dropped his pestle in the mortar full of crushed sesame seeds, a clear sign his patience was about to run out. "Because it is not I who's been working at the mine six days a week."

Finger-pointing was not necessary but Jungkook made a point of disregarding the blame altogether. "So what? It helps me take my mind off... things."

"Yeah. I figured that much." Jin's voice had somewhat softened. He was aware, perhaps better than anyone else, of what the young one was going through. He'd seen Namjoon forego sleep and food over this whole 'challenge' the man was convinced they had to win somehow. "Still. Not healthy for anyone to stay away from the sun for so long."

Jungkook did not care. "You know how much I despise them."

"I'm not asking you to socialise. Just go check the bulletin board. Do it for hyung, will you?"

Jin went for a back hug when Jungkook stopped him. "Please. Don't."

His broken voice and hurt glance had the elder clench his heart. The dwarfs all believed Jungkook's pain of losing Taehyung would eventually fade away. Clearly, more time was needed. In the meantime, the youngster wouldn't let anyone approach him too close, let alone touch him. He was secretly hoping to preserve the feeling of Taehyung's last caress, even though he could sense a void, some nameless numbness slowly swallowing him whole with each passing day.

When he turned around, he noticed a hint of moisture in the older's eyes. Jin's concerns were valid. He was, after all looking out for all six of them.

Jungkook made up his mind. Yes, he was still hurting, but being selfish about it was obviously not making things any better. "I'll go. Just this once."

🍎

The small mining town was rather quiet for a Saturday morning. Everyone was likely being thrifty, carefully living off their food reserves while waiting for the merchants to arrive. Jungkook was reminded of Taehyung's warning. What if the Caravan didn't show up? They'd all be in trouble, for sure.

As he walked down the main street, his eyes instinctively turned toward the road where he first saw him. Jungkook froze, trying to recall each and every detail of that initial encounter. Who could have guessed it would lead him to a broken heart?

"Reminiscing?" A man he hadn't noticed before was standing there, smirking.

Despite his cheeks he felt flushed, Jungkook ignored him and proceeded to look for the announcement board.

"We kinda found him, remember?" The stranger was now following Jungkook who kept walking, determined to stick to the mission Jin had given him.

"He was lying there, wasn't he?"

The young dwarf refused to take the bait. Whatever the poor fellow was after, he was not going to get it from him.

"You wouldn't have known about him if we hadn't told you."

"You were about to bury him alive!"Jungkook finally blurted out, furious.

"Yeah. Well, that soon won't matter anyway."

"What are you saying? What is it you want?" Damn it. This was not how it was supposed to go.

"Oh nothing much. Just half of the reward should content us town folks."

"Reward?"

"You are planning on giving him up. Are you not? I mean, we haven't seen him around so we guess you probably locked him up some—"

The blow that hit him sent the man flying. He fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Jungkook hadn't realised the amount of anger he needed to release until he noticed the stranger coughing blood.

"Why you little piece of—"

Jungkook wasn't paying attention to him any longer. He'd spotted a poster from afar, and his heart leapt at the sight. With each step he took, he felt his world being turned upside down.

In a daze, he lifted his fingers to the familiar face. The portrait was exceptionally accurate, picturing the beloved slender eyes filled with softness and warmth, the giddy smile about to transform into a cheerful laugh, and the precious mole at the tip of his nose. Whoever drew this must have known Taehyung quite well, Jungkook mused, grinning at the lilac hair which was rather beautiful.

Yet all these charming details failed to prevent his heart from breaking a little more at the thought of the prince enjoying life away from him. Come to think of it, enjoy was probably not the right word to describe Taehyung's new existence. Jungkook could not even begin to imagine what he must have done to land himself on a WANTED placard.

"Tae! Where in the crystal mines are you?" He was rubbing his face in frustration when a pair of trained hands gripped his two arms, roughly pulling them behind and holding them in a tight lock.

"Hey there little dwarf! Looks like you need to get that temper of yours under control. And I know just the place for that."

Across the street, the man with the broken jaw was smirking.

🍎

On the other side of the land, a wide convoy was lazily setting out on its final journey, leaving behind a sleeping city that would soon wake up to its worst hangover.

Roaming the town's quiet streets was a little old witch with long dark hair, desperately searching for her lost candy boy. How could she have known said boy was presently unconscious and tied up, inside a horse-drawn trailer, moving west toward an undisclosed destination?

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