𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | K.TH

Chapter Six

Taehyung followed the male in front of him, perspective of the pace they were walking - nonchalant and in no hurry. It was obvious this warrior was lying to him. He could tell by the way he perspired and drummed his fingers against his other arm. Subaru was nervous. Very nervous. If there was one thing Taehyung was good at besides fighting, it was reading people's mannerisms.

"Yoongi." His voice was low and demanding, noting the way the mentioned male halted and turned to look at him. "Did one of the captives run away?"

"No." Yoongi answered, refusing to make eye contact. "I was asked to get you."

Taehyung nodded, knowing his men would not lie to him. "You were asked by who?"

"Your brother."

The very mention of his brother was what made him take off, his strides turning into a run as he made his way in the direction of the clearing in the forest. His foot coverings were unforgiving on the dirt wrought ground and by the time he had reached the tents, they had started to unravel around his legs. His arm extended, tenuously brushing his fingers over the fabric and preparing himself to enter.

"How nice of you to join me, little brother."

The sound of that voice caused Taehyung to turn around, eyes fixated in a glare and his knuckles turning white from the sheer strength in which he clenched his fists. He would have laughed at the lunacy, had it not felt so familiar.

"Why are you here?"

"You didn't expect me so soon?"

A lithe male stepped out from the darkness, of a similar height and as pulchritudinous as the warrior before him, with dark hair that framed his oval shaped face. His arms were folded in a patronizing manner, draped in the richest of fabrics and adorned with an expense of gold. The older male, upon seeing the look on Taehyung's face, smiled and brushed a strand of hair from his face, his jawline defined in the light of the nearby fire.

"I thought I told you to never bother me again, Yeonjun."

"Now is that anyway to greet your brother, Taehyung?" Yeonjun hummed, voice as distinguishable as his own idiosyncrasy. "I thought you would like to know how impressed I am."

The warrior furrowed his eyebrows, knowing it was not praise, but a way to chastise him. "I'll ask you again, why are you here?"

"Father sent me, he thinks you have proved yourself enough to return."

Taehyung frowned at the mention of his Father and how he had been sent away before he'd even been able to wield a sword properly. It had taken years of determination to prove himself a skilled warrior and many more years of torment to erase the memories of his old life, to forget his family, to disdain the time he had once been happy. And yet all it took for those feelings to come precipitating back was the very mention of him.

It was trenchant that only now, after he had achieved everything expected of him, he was finally allowed to return.

"I have no desire to ever see that fucking brute again."

"You can't continue to hate him, Tae"

"He sent me away when I was barely a boy. Is that what you call a Father?"

"He knew you would make a great warrior, he created y-"

The warrior barely let his brother finish before he shoved him and aggressively maneuvered the russet haired male onto his back. Yeonjun, despite having an expensive headpiece covering his forehead, still managed to scrape his face on a nearby tree during the struggle. Taehyung only growled and threw his fist back, but just as he was about to hit his brother, he did something he had never done - he hesitated.

Lowering his hand, he stood. "Do not speak to me as if I owe him anything. What he wants is for me to return with my tail between my legs and plead for his forgiveness."

Yeonjun remained pertinacious, knowing the younger was erratic and unpredictable, but he reached his hand down to retrieve the knife in the fabric tied around his waist, or at least he tried to before he heard laughter.

"Why are you laughing at me?"

"Because you do not know how to use a weapon, Yeonjun."

"I will learn to use one if that is the only way to get you to return. Do you not care about our Mother? She has not seen you in years."

If it hadn't been so quick, perhaps Yeonjun would have seen the flicker of hurt in Taehyung's eyes. The obscurity of it was aberrant, vulnerable. Such words would never be used to elucidate someone of his nature, but it was true.

"She stands at the entrance of the Kingdom everyday hoping you will return."

"Then she can continue to wait." The warrior's tone was phlegmatic, lacking any emotion. It wasn't like he was incapable of showing emotions, he was just good at hiding them. Remorse was not something he was gifted with, but pain was. And if pretending he didn't care about her was the only way to rid himself of that feeling, then he would.

"You know she could do nothing when Father sent you away, it was not her choice."

"Then go back and tell her I will return when he is no longer there."

"Tae-"

Yeonjun was interrupted by the distant sound of screaming as a woman was dragged into the clearing of the forest and as he turned to look at Taehyung, his younger brother was already making his way in that direction, a worried expression etched across his features and his eyes warm - he knew then that his captive meant something to him.