The Magic Gateway ( Kth)

33

I looked up at the handsome prince in front of me, his strong arms carrying me after I had damage my ankle. "What?" He asks, his cheeks flush.

"You're so handsome" I say and snuggled into his chest even further. "Thank you pretty" He says and kisses my forehead.

"This looks like a great place to rest for a while" Jimin say as he plops down on some grass.

You must be wondering grass? In a cave? Well, after we left the cave, we made it across the bridge which led us to a gorgeous grass land.

"It looks unreal" I say as Taehyung sits down with me. "You sure are right my love, it kind of reminds me of my grandmother's home, she was a farmer before she went into royalty..." he says and massages my foot softly.

Hoseok takes out the tiffin tins and lays them out on some banana leaves. "I can eat it's okay" I say as Taehyung brings the food to my lips but he didn't budge so I simply opened my mouth as he fed me with his hands.

"So prince, how does it fill to not eat with utensils?" Jimin asks and he shoots them a side look.

"Fine" he mutters. "Here" I say as I reached in my bag for chopsticks. "You carry around chopsticks?" Jimin asks as he stuffs his mouth with potato pancakes. "Yeah just in case" I say with a shrug.

"No it's okay, I will eat with my hands like you all" Taehyung says and licks his fingers clean.

"Ms. Cha cooks really good" I say as I also stuffed my mouth rice and curries. "Let's not eat too heavy, we need to be quick and light and save food for later" Taehyung says as he drinks some water.

"He's right and Jimin, mind the curries, we have no royal thrones here" I say and they all chuckle.

"It's all leaves and water Chim" Taehyung says and Jimin scowlers his face. "Ok enough shit talk, how is everyone?" Taehyung asks and everyone sighed.

"We're with each other thank the lords, so we're okay" Hoseok say and we nodded.

"I agree, let's all stick together and finish this quest, we don't have much time" I say and Taehyung takes a hold of my hand. "You need some rest and then we can venture forward. Your foot will thank you later" he says and I nod.

"How do you know so much?" I asked. "Did you forget that my brother is a doctor?" he stated and I mentally face palms. DUH. Seokjin.

"I know this isn't any of my business but I'll still ask. What will happen once you cross that gate?" Jimin asks and I put down the thermos with water.

I looked at Taehyung and he seems to wonder as well.

"I want to see my family. I hope they're all well and that they're alive. I do not know what time it is there if anything has changed or what" I say disappointedly. I was. Were they disappointed in me. What if they thought I ran away?

"What will happen if they don't allow you to come back?" Hoseok asks sadly and I frown.

"Don't say that.....I... don't want to leave them but I don't want to leave you all. I want to marry you Taehyung" I say and he smiles sadly. "We will figure it all out soon my love" He says and wipes away some of my tears.

"Are you okay to walk?" Jimin asks and takes my foot and rests it on hi lap, massaging it gently.

"I think I am. It's been about what? 20 minutes since the balm was applied?" I asked looking at Taehyung and he looks at his pocket watch.

"No, 40 actually" he says stunned.

"Is time moving quicker here?" I asked and he looks at his watch again, standing up this time. He walks further and he stops, a small gasp leaving his lips.

"My needle seems to be going crazy" He says and Hoseok jumps up to go look at the watch.

"He's right, must be a magnetic field here, a strong one" He says.

"Will this make it difficult for us to continue?" I ask and Taehyung sighs.

"It might be but don't worry, there's 4 smart people here, we'll figure it out my love" He says with a small smile.

"Thank you Jimin" I say with a small smile as he helps me up. "Ms Cha must've made this with magic" I muttered and stretched my muscles feeling a wave of healing and comfort.

"Where do we go next?" Jimin asks fixing the bag against his back. "Through the orbs of the dark forest, where the only light source is man made" Hoseok reads unsurely of what he's seeing.

"I thought we already went through a forest" Taehyung says as he carefully looks at the scroll and it's painting. His face falls.

"I've heard stories about this forest and I didn't believe my father" he says lowly. "There are things in there that are....unearthly...inhumane I'd say" He continues.

"Please stick together, let us tie this rope onto all of us. I cannot afford to loose any of you" he says and attached grapple hooks and the rope to each of us.

"Now if we have to run which is most likely we run together at the same speed in one direction, otherwise, we're all fucked" Taehyung says one last time and I looked at him worriedly.

"Do you think this really makes sense for us to be like this?" Jimin asks pulling on the rope tighter and Taehyung thinks for a while.

"Maybe you're right, stick within a pair but do not leave the group" He warns.

"What things have you heard about this forest my love?" I asked as we followed Hoseok

"I....I heard there were demons that shape shifted into persons and they lure you and kill you" He says and Hoseok stops, making us all bump into him.

"You're kidding right?" He asks shaking his head. "I wish I was..." Tae says quietly and grips my hand tightly.

"We know each other well, all I can say is don't get fooled. Hobi, you have a baby to go back to and a wife I'm presuming and Jimin, we all need you, this country needs you, I need you" He says looking over to his best friend. "And you, you're never leaving my side, ever" He says pointing his finger in my face.

"I won't" I said with a smile and placed my hands on either side of his face. "I love you Taehyung" I said, feeling a bit saddened.

We trotted downwards, sand and gravel rolling underneath our feet as he carefully walked alongside large sloping rocks. As we ventured on, a hand went on the back of my shirt gripping tightly as I was pulled down with him.

"Ah Jimin, are you okay?" I asked, getting up immediately as I realized I had fallen on top of him.

"Yeah- Sorry, I skated down on these damn gravel" He says angrily, kicking the pebbles away. "Let's continue" Hoseok says clearing his throat. "It's a little bit tricky here, hold on to someone" Taehyung says as he looks forward.

"It's a trek going downwards, a steep one" He continues.

My hands began getting clammy as I looked down to see nothing but darkness.

"We're here" Jimin says and I gulp.