The night had fallen and the entertainers were travelling across the forest. The smell of leaves and river filled the air. The sound of crunched leaves after every step and the breath that escaped were the only things that could be heard.
However, it was not only them in the path that they were walking through.
SooA stopped in her tracks and she knew what was about to happen. They were surrounded by the hunters with ugly desires in their eyes.
She scoffed and folded her arms.
"A mere hunter like you thinks you can get me?"
Chanhyuk chuckled as he stepped out into the moonlight which was the only visible source at the moment.
"Your majesty, you think very lowly of me."
He tried to get closer but Jungkook and Hoseok stood in front of the female dancer to protect her.
"How could you leave the palace which was the safest place, dancer of life? Is it that you do not wish to cause trouble for the king?"
"This is a decision which I made for myself."
"Suit yourself."
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Hoseok gritted his teeth as he pulled SooA with him while the Phoenix took care of those left behind. SooA glared at those running after them. She quickly took out daggers and threw those at them which helped to slow them them.
Chanhyuk appeared before Hoseok all of a sudden and kicked him in the stomach where the wound was.
"Hoseok!" SooA shouted in horror when she saw him clutching his stomach. Hoseok pushed SooA away when he noticed a dagger heading her way. He pulled his sword out and reflected any attacks coming towards them.
The wound was not helping him in any way. His body was feeling heavier. This gave the hunters an advantage. They aimed at his weak spots and SooA cursed under her breath.
SooA gasped when she suddenly felt a grip on her arm. She tried to escape but Chanhyuk was way stronger than her when it came to strengths.
"My love!"
Hoseok came running after quickly finishing off the ones surrounding him.
Chanhyuk managed to slash the side of Hoseok's arm and he fell back. Luckily, SooA managed to escape from the grip and catch Hoseok.
"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry for being useless, my love."
SooA gulped down and held his hand tightly. She closed her eyes when the sword was aimed at her. However, there wasn't any and all she heard was Yoongi shouting, 'Your majesty'.
Her eyes widened when she opened them and saw Seokjin standing before her. The king fell down into his knees when the sword was pulled away.
"S-seokjin?" She called in disbelief.
Seokjin turned to be face to face with SooA.
"Hey, my precious, I've promised you before I will always protect you."
Tears came flowing down from SooA's eyes and Seokjin smiled and ran his fingers against her cheeks to wipe the tears away.
"You will be fine. I can promise you that."
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The hunters escaped and SooA was not allowed to step into the grounds of the kingdom. The reason was because the humans had found out that she was a dancer.
Yoongi stayed behind to treat Hoseok and Jungkook while Seokjin was taken back to the palace. SooA often asked about his condition and she noticed how Yoongi was having difficulty answering.
"What is the problem, Yoongi?"
"Don't worry about him. He will be fine."
That was the only response she had gotten.
She always stayed beside Hoseok because the dancer was having a hard time curing. Jungkook was a phoenix himself so he was a fast healer and he only received minor injuries. Hoseok, on the other hand, was already suffering from the previous wound and the new ones just worsened his condition.
He would often tell SooA that he was fine although there was no point lying when everyone could see how poorly he was doing. Nonetheless, SooA smiled for him and held his hand tightly every time she had a chance to.
It was that one day when Namjoon decided to drop by with Yoongi, who looked super drained and pale. The physician decided to stand outside and requested Hoseok and Jungkook to stay with him while Namjoon speaks to SooA.
SooA could tell that something was wrong but she waited for the advisor to speak. She wondered if her ears heard it wrong.
"Seokjin what?"
"He had passed away, your majesty."
"That's impossible. Kim Seokjin is a strong man and Yoongi is the best physician in the world. Mind if I add that he's a kitsune? There's no way h-he-"
SooA covered her mouth in disbelief and she cried. She cried until her entire body was trembling and she couldn't control herself from doing so. Her mind was blank and the only thing that replayed in her head was the message that Namjoon had relayed to her.
"I'm sorry, your majesty."
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Hoseok watched SooA stare at the bright moon up in the starless sky. His lips curved up into a smile as he shifted to sit beside her and held her hand. SooA took notice of his presence upon his touch and turned to face him.
"No matter what you do, I will support you, my love."
"Hoseok..."
Hoseok shook his head and pulled his one and only love into a warm embrace.
"I knew from the start that the king didn't need the pendant to understand you. He just somehow connected to you, didn't he?"
SooA nodded against his neck.
"So, if that is what you wish to do. Go ahead, my love. Just remember that I had loved you, I still love you and I will always continue to love you."
"My answer is the same for you, Hoseok. It never faded away."
"But he somehow made his way to your heart?"
SooA chuckled.
"Jealous?"
"I am a greedy person but I love you too much to actually be angry about those kind of things."
The two pulled away from the hug and shared a kiss under the moonlight before falling onto the mattress and admiring each other.
"Thank you, Hoseok. I mean it."
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People stared at the female dancer walking into the kingdom with Hoseok and Jungkook accompanying her and murmured. Namjoon and Yoongi rushed to escort the queen who shook her head. She stood still at the garden instead of going into the room where the king was.
"I will do it here."
She glanced at Hoseok who smiled at her and took a seat where available to watch her. Jungkook joined while Yoongi worried his lip. He rushed to SooA and grabbed her wrist.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"Dancing?"
"You are seriously not planning to do that dance, are you?"
SooA stared at Yoongi blankly and Yoongi was speechless.
"Are you out of your mind?"
SooA giggled and gently took Yoongi's hand away from hers. She bowed at Yoongi before situating herself near the tree that had burned down that night.
"He had saved me too many times. It's my turn to save him."
She held her hands up in the air to mark the start of her performance as the dancer of life.