Seven Princes || A BTS Fanfiction || Myth AU (DISCONTINUED)

~ Five ~

"Our next stop, Merlin Lake," Tae says, opening his arms wide to show the magnificent lake. "It's saltwater, connecting to the Shimmering Seas via a river near the end."

"It's especially beautiful at night when the fireflies appear," Hobi says, his voice becoming dreamy and soft.

He'a right. As you imagine the scene, you enter into a peaceful state of mind. You add it to your bucket list to visit the lake at night.

"Now, the lake is usually– " Tae continues but is immediately interrupted by a voice.

What a beautiful voice is it that you hear. Soft and melodious like the sea. It echoes through the air, putting the three of you in a trance. Suddenly, there is a splash in the lake.

A moment later, you find yourself staring eye to eye with an enchanting merman. With minty hair and eyes the colors of the sea, the merman captivates you. He has a pearlescent skin with holographic scales. His lower half is fish tail that shimmer under the light of the sun.

"Good day to you, beautiful," the merman says flipping his hair with his right hand.

"Jimin-ssi! Nice to catch you here. This is Eunji," Tae says. "She is Miss Cate's niece, the one she mentioned."

"Eunji, this is Jimin, prince of the Nereids," Hobi adds.

"Hi Eunji! You look spectacular today," he says with an innocent smile. Uh-oh, he's cute.

"Hello Jimin, it's nice meeting you," you say, smiling back.

Tae claps his hand to catch both of your attention, "Now, since Jimin is here, why don't you help us tour Eunji. You know about this lake a lot."

"Sure thing. Let me change," he says. He swims to a distance before jumping out of the water.

In an instant, water surrounds him, reflecting the light of the sun all around Jimin. As he lands to the ground, the water evaporates and Jimin is now in an iridescent, gossamer shirt and tight fitting teal pants.

"Allow me to introduce the Merlin Lake for you," he says gesturing forward.

"Created by the Nereid, Thetis, the lake serves as a symbol between the peaceful treaty of the witches and merfolk. In honor of the great wizard of Arthurian Legend, the Witch Queen named the lake after Merlin," he explains. You nod in understanding of what he's saying and he continues.

"We use this lake for swimming activities. It is also used sometimes as a transport system via the boats we have. I prefer swimming," he continues.

"Okay, but to where would you need transportation?" you ask.

"Sometimes, our lessons include visiting other kingdoms. Instead of travelling by land or sky, we prefer boats as it is more efficient. After all, cars don't move on water," he answers.

"But, isn't it tiring?" you ask again, your curiosity continuing to blossom.

"Not really. With the help of the sea spirits, the boat moves by itself without oars. They also protect the boat from big waves or dangerous predators," Hobi replies.

"Oh..." you say, shuddering at the thought of sharks or octopi coming after the boat.

"Well that is all about the lake, really. Where to next, Taehyung?" Jimin asks.

"Let's proceed to the courtyard," Tae says.

With that, you all walk to the destination.

==========>•o•<==========

The courtyard is massive. It's the size of at least two football fields, completely surrounded in a wall of cobble and shrubbery. The ground is made of trimmed grass with a border of stone embellishments. There are bleachers on both side for people to sit on and on the center of the courtyard is a stone mosaic of a magic circle.

Sitting on the bleacher is another boy. He wears a beanie and he has green dreads. Hold on, they're not dreads. They're snakes.

The boy is a gorgon, obviously. He looks up, just noticing the four of you and you catch a glimpse of his face.

He has soft features with cat-like eyes and a slit pupil like a reptile's. He has snake scales on his cheeks and forehead. He wears a cozy green sweater that matches the color of his hair. As you watch closely, he seems to be doing his homework.

"Yoongi hyung! Hi," Tae says, waving at the gorgon.

"Fuck off Tae. I'm busy," Yoongi replies, clearly irritated. He stands from his seat and heads inside the mansion.

"Oops, he's probably in a bad mood. That homework is surely a pain in the ass," Jimin says.

"That is Yoongi, he's the second eldest. He comes from the Gorgon Clan," Hobi whispers.

"Alright, but what is that homework all about?" you ask, curious as to why it's such a 'pain in the ass'.

"It's about the names of the different species of nymphs. Hamadryads, naiads, all that kind of stuff. Pretty easy, in my opinion," Hobi says.

"Well, you're a fairy," Jimin replies with a raised eyebrow and quirk in the hip.

"And you're a nymph, Jimin. You ought to know," Hobi snorts back.

Tae facepalms and you laugh at the three. Then, Tae clears out his throat. The three of you turn your attention towards him.

"Now, we mustn't bicker on the assignment. Let's continue with the tour," Tae says in an optimistic tone. Jimin and Hobi nod in reply.

"This is the courtyard," Tae says to you. "It's our training ground. We practice combat and strategy as well as using the spells we learn through fighting. It's the care of Mister Jinsoo, Miss Cate's boyfriend."

"What, I didn't know Auntie has a boyfriend," you say, surprised.

"Correction, it's fiancé," Jimin says.

"It's the same thing," Tae answers, shrugging. "Anyways, there are always sparring sessions. It's usually divided in teams. We have a class later so you might get to experience it physically."

The thought of using magic in combat excites you. This is something you weren't able to do in your life at the city.

"Next spot, I might have been kinda lying when I said the tour is about the exterior. Our next stop is the library," Tae says.

"Wait, there's a library?" you say, eyes wide.

"Yeah, all big houses have libraries. Although this library is as big as a cathedral. Let's go," Hobi says matter-of-factly.

You are still in a state of shock but you follow the boys as they trod back to the mansion.