TAEHYUNG

I watch her cry.

She is so deep in her sadness— a sadness I knew I can't understand. I knew that she was crying for her family, and how could I comfort her knowing that I wouldn't have a single thing to say?

I didn't love my family the way she did. I'd much rather pretend that I didn't have one.

I wasn't even sure I'd blink an eye if I heard of my own father's death.

The sounds of her muted sobs seem to fill the forest. Her entire body shakes with it, and my heart hurts for her at the choking silence. Not because of her family, but because of her tears.

If I could, I would give her my voice.

I would give her everything. I was willing.

But the world is cruel, and it only takes from those who already have so little.

I'm by her side in a breath when her body sways to the side, completely exhausted from crying so hard. She feels too light and delicate against my hands as I pull her close to my body, feeling the cold of her skin.

There are tear tracks on her cheeks.

And her eyes weakly open.

Tae...

Her fingers twitch slightly with the sign of my name. With her I was myself. I didn't have to be the Elven Prince. I didn't have to be the perfect heir my father wanted me to be.

Tae.

"I'm here." I murmur, tightening my hands around her figure. She signs again.

My bow. And my arrows— they're still...

"Don't worry about those. I will get them." I tell her. Then I raise a brow down in her direction, remembering how impressed I'd been at first when I'd seen her shooting.

"When did you become so good, Rinei? It hasn't even been a half-month. And you could rival me easily."

It lightens my heart when I see her quirk a small smile up at me.

I practiced. I practiced real hard, because I wanted you to be proud of me.

What an angel.

"I'm always proud of you." I say, nearing her house. She hadn't changed at all, from when she was a child.

Even when I'd taught her the elven sign language, she'd worked hard to learn it under a month. And it had taken me an entire half-year, with hours of schooling.

Then she suddenly tugs my sleeve.

Her eyes are wide when I look down in surprise.

Not...home.

My brows furrow. "You don't want to go back? But it's getting dark, love. Where else would I take you?"

Anywhere else, she signs, her eyes avoiding mine.

I just don't want to be home right now. Please.

The corners of my eyes soften.

"Anywhere, Rinei?"

She nods.

Anywhere.

_______________________________

RINEI

I feel him taking me somewhere.

His footfalls are nearly silent against the leaves. And the few times I open my eyes to look up at him, his eyes are set forward, as if he could see through the darkness when I can't see an inch in front of myself.

Everything is pitch black.

I close my eyes again.

I don't know how much time passes, after that.

But when I open them again, it's because he's stopped moving. I don't need to look to know that I'm deeper in the Elven Forests than I've ever been before.

And in front of me, there's a little cottage.

I blink.

Is this yours?

"It isn't mine." He says with a guilty smile. "But the owner will be fine with it. He hasn't been in for months, anyway."

The door opens with a creak. And he sets me down on a couch, before lighting a candle on top of a table.

It's small, but cozy. There's a small kitchen and a living space, with a single bedroom set to the side.

There's only a bed and a table— nothing else in the room. The single candle is enough to light up the entire inside.

I blink, a little bit nervous.

You sure the owner will be fine with us being here?

"It'll be alright." He assures me, before taking a seat on the chair set to the corner. I carefully sit on the edge of the bed.

It smells like fresh pine.

For a while there's silence.

He's gazing at me, and I know exactly why. I had to explain, at least, why I'd told him I didn't want to go back. He was probably curious.

So I sign.

It's my father, I say. He's getting worse by the day. And mother is refusing to eat now because of him. Until he wakes up.

My fingers falter.

But what if he doesn't?

I think she might just starve herself to death. And then what? Father needs medicine, but there's noth—

"What kind of medicine?"

What kind?

I furrow my brows, trying to remember the name that Jungkook had mentioned to me the other day.

Arlen. My older brother said Arlen, and it's this white flower with four...no, five petals, I think.

His eyes widen.

"Arlen?"

I nod.

"You should've told me earlier." He says, getting to his feet. "I can get you those, Rinei. How much do you need?"

He...what?

You know where it is?

He nods at my surprised question.

"I will try and get it to you by tomorrow." He says, lowering himself in front of me. His head tilts softly to the side.

"I'm sorry, Rinei. That I can't stay with you longer. But I need to take you home. Now."

He looks genuinely sorry. And I quickly wave my hand in a sharp flurry of signs.

It's fine! You know— when I told you I didn't want to go back I didn't mean...like...

Not what I wanted to say.

I meet his amused eyes. What I mean to say is thank you, Tae. Thank you so much.

He smiles, the slightest curve of his lips. And it makes my heart shiver, the warmth in my cheeks hotter. I almost want to look away. I would've, if I could.

Didn't he understand that he was gorgeous? He needed to stop smiling at me like that before I actually lost my mind.

"Tomorrow." He whispers. He touches his fingertips against the back of my hand.

"I'll be there, at moonrise. I'll be there with the flower."

______________________________

TAEHYUNG

My father used arlen for his teas.

It was the only thing that he had taken a liking to, and he kept the flowers growing in a garden near his quarters. It was guarded— as always. He didn't even trust his subjects with a couple petaled flowers.

"Tae?"

Jimin tips his head up sleepily when I come in.

His brows furrow when I start to leave again, after changing into darker clothes. His eyes are more awake now— more alarmed. He could probably tell I was about to do something forbidden by my father again.

"You're going to do something naughty, aren't you? What are you doing?"

He shifts up when I don't answer.

"Tae, seriously."

"...my father's tea garden." I whisper. "There are two guards, isn't there? Or are there three?"

Jimin makes a flippant expression.

"Your Highness, I'm not telling you jack until you let me know what you're planning to do with your father's precious tea plants."

A sigh leaves my lips.

"She needs it. For her father, to heal him."

"Oh— for your lover, I see." He says, and my eyes narrow when I hear his tone change. His brows raise teasingly. "I'd love to meet her sometime, Tae. Just wondering how she has you wrapped all around her finger."

"Just tell me, Jimin."

"Okay, okay."

He pretends to think for a brief second.

"There's two, I think."

"One on the left side of the door, and one on the right."

But Jimin isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

When we get there, there's much more than two.