A SEALED FATE: Emeralds and Blood (BTS)

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The journey back to the palace was long and tiresome. You weren't permitted to ride a horse, Taehyung's orders. He barely spoke the entire way back, leaving his two brothers to hold up most of the conversation. Honestly, you would have preferred it if Jimin and Jungkook had been silent too.

Instead, they clung to you every chance they could. Jungkook would hop off of his horse multiple times during the day to walk by your side, telling you all of the things he was going to do with you; eat delicious jams imported from other kingdoms, buy you pretty jewelry, he even hinted at marriage.

You had made the mistake of muttering that you were a maid, that those things would be impossible. As soon as those words left your mouth, Taehyung had spun his horse around and stopped the group from proceeding down the dirt path.

"You will mind your tone when you speak to my dear brother." He had spat, his dark eyes staring hard at you. You had flinched and apologized quickly, not very keen on receiving the same fate that your former villagers had. Your heart was still aching over the needless deaths that had occurred. And of course, the single missing girl.

Before you had left, you had scanned the village for any signs of Ruby. You didn't want her to get too close in case Taehyung decided to kill her too, but you had at least wanted to see her one last time. She had been nowhere in sight however, filling your heart with more sadness.

Throughout the journey you had continuously adjusted the small potion bottle nestled between your breasts, fearing that someone would catch sight of it and confiscate it. You knew that the first thing that you needed to do was find the castle's healer so you could ask about the next blood moon.

Of course, as soon as you had made it to the palace you were placed in the dungeons. This is where you were now, shivering in the corner of the dark, damp room. There was crying coming from the cell next to yours, but it was so dark that you couldn't manage to see through the bars. Across from you, you swore you could see a pair of eyes looking at you.

You were terrified, unsure of what was about to happen to you. You couldn't even tell how long you had been in the cell for, because there was no windows to tell you what time of day it was. The guards brought meals at random intervals, which made it hard to figure out when lunch and dinner was.

You tried to count the seconds of every minute, and then every hour, and then tried to do the math to see if it had been one whole day. Your mind was easily distracted by the sounds around you, however, which made the task unsuccessful.

You had resorted to fidgeting with your wedding ring, trying to calm yourself by stroking the smooth surface of the pale green band. Of course, that last thing that you wanted was for a guard to see it. They would take it away without a second thought. So at one point you undid the thin leather straps holding the small potion bottle and slipped the ring through, hiding that too.

After who knows how long, more than one pair of feet came shuffling up to your cell. The numerous bright torches lit the area up, revealing a small group of guards and Prince Namjoon. Your heart dropped when you saw the stern look on his face. For some reason, the disappointment that he exuded was more upsetting than Taehyung's bloodlust.

With a simple flick of his wrist, the guards unlocked the cell and entered, harshly pulling you to your feet. They dragged you out and into a new room, one that had a single chair sitting in the center. You noticed the faint red marking the ground, obviously old blood. There was no metal in this room to create rust.

You began to struggle in the guards grip, alarm shooting through you. "Please!" You rasped, your throat hoarse from your constant crying. "Please don't hurt me!"