𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

Chapter nineteen

The sound of the drums and cheers of the people filled the kingdom of Narva as the royals paraded through. The sun was shining at its best, and the sky was clear. The trees swayed with pride, and the birds sang to the drums. Five horses marched on with their riders, the last two pulling the palanquin behind them. The queen rested in the red palanquin with a smile on her face.

Hoseok was on the front with his royal dun horse draped in a royal saddle. Right behind him on a white mare, Jeongguk sat. His head was held high, but flecks of gold collected on his brown irises because of nervousness. Next to him on a pure black stallion, his alpha sat. The elder's blue eyes watched every face with hostility, and whenever someone met his gaze, they backed away. Behind them, pulling the palanquin, a palomino horse carried Lisa, and Seokjin rode on a chestnut mare.

"Behold the royal family, the beautiful omega of Venus, the ever powerful pure blood alpha and the heroes of Lupine!" The prince's bodyguard a few steps ahead of them in a carriage called out every five minutes. The crowd cheered whenever he spoke, and they kept their eyes glued to Jeongguk and Taehyung.

Their mouths were wide open and eyes were big as they took in the beauty of the omega who was once believed to be dead, whose name evoked the stories of large massacres, who was said to save their world from them.

Jeongguk teared his eyes away from the crowd and looked at Taehyung. They weren't allowed to talk in the middle of the parade, but Jeongguk's hand itched to reach out and grab Taehyung's. The alpha met his stare and smiled for the first time since the parade started. Automatically, a smile pulled on Jeongguk's face as well.

They were interrupted of their moment by the blowing of the trumpet indicating that the parade would be over soon. Jeongguk exhaled at the thought. The hopeful eyes boring into him made him nervous and scared to disappoint these people.

What if they failed? What was going to be on the prophecy?

He was going to find out the prophecy right after this, which added to his nerves. Hoseok thought it was best not to make a speech (thankfully) so they didn't have to do anything but sit on a horse. Still, the people and their hungry gazes did not sit right with Jeongguk.

Soon, they were back at the gates of the castle and made their way inside. The guards took the horses to the stables and took away the palanquin.

"Do you want to rest or get on with seeing the warlock?" Hoseok asked. Jeongguk figured it was best to get it over with.

"The warlock. Where is he?" Jeongguk asked.

"Well, follow me. He might be a little grumpy, but that's just his nature." Hoseok said and began walking. The queen left to rest while they followed him.

"Your Majesty, he will help us, right?" Seokjin asked cautiously. Hoseok took a second to answer.

"Let's hope so," Jeongguk was tempted to question why that was so, and he could see that Taehyung and Lisa were in a similar state as well, but he refrained himself.

They walked deeper into the castle, turning at corridors. After a couple more minutes, Hoseok stopped in front of a door. Jeongguk thought they were finally there. But when Hoseok opened the door, instead of a room, there was a stairway leading down. Taehyung huffed next to him. Hoseok began walking down, and they followed him. After two flights of stairs, they reached another door. This time, however, when Hoseok opened the door, a room was revealed. Hoseok looked back at them and smiled before leading them through.

The room was dark, lit with candles. The shelves were made with stone, and they had various kinds of herbs and liquids. Cauldrons of various sizes were aligned on a table, and right in the middle, a large Cauldron rested, filled with some kind of liquid. On the far end of the room, a hooded figure sat. He would've been missed, if not for his milky pale skin and dead feline eyes. The warlock.

A small fear built in Jeongguk's chest. Hoseok, on the other hand, smiled brightly at the man and walked closer, urging them to follow. The four of them took heavy steps towards the warlock. Jeongguk gasped inaudibly when the man set his eyes on him, and they seemed to darken even more.

"Yoongi, how are you doing? As you have predicted, our heroes are here, and they need your help." Hoseok said, gesturing to them. The warlock, Yoongi, not tearing his eyes away from Jeongguk, spoke.

"No." As simple as that. His voice was deep, and a shiver went down Jeongguk's spine at that. Sure, Taehyung's voice was deeper, but Yoongi's voice was scarier.

"C'mon, Yoongi. Lupine needs to be saved from those people." Hoseok tried once again.

"I don't care." The man said again, his gaze fixed on Jeongguk's. Everyone noticed this, of course.

"They're plotting more massacres. They want kingdoms to fall. They want the crown, and they will stop at nothing." Hoseok said, a plead to his voice. Jeongguk wanted to know if 'they' had a name and what it was. But he was scared to ask.

"I have nothing to lose." Yoongi declared. The prince sighed and turned to them. Yoongi's eyes remained on Jeongguk's. The omega shifted awkwardly. He never enjoyed being stared at. Ever since his childhood, all the omegas at Der stared at him from time to time, and he always felt self-conscious.

Oh, Der. He wondered what Duri was doing. He wished she and the omegas were okay. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Taehyung took his hand. He glanced at their clasped hands, and at the alpha, his eyes were fixated on Hoseok, who was saying something.

"- a lot happened that time. That is the only reason why he is acting this way, but he will help -" he tried to convince them, but Yoongi spoke again.

"I won't." Jeongguk sighed, now a wave of impulse rushed over him.

"Why? What did we do to you?" He asked with a slightly raised voice. Yoongi stood up in anger, and Hoseok put up his hands to calm him down.

"You killed my parents!"