ASH ARROWS | jungkook ✓

the dethroned and the soldier

⊰ chapter eleven ⊱

"I have never seen my father," Dara said. The slowed foot work against the raspy leaves of the forest made the wildest, hollow noise that she tried avoiding as she walked aside Jungkook, "Arver never let me see my family. All I knew was that I was tied to the North. I was born to protect it."

The sky never looked so dark, so gloomy. Dara and Jungkook used the back route to escape North. The borders were only half an hour away from the main city but they decided to use the longer route for safety measures of not getting caught by any of the locals. Though it must have been happy news for them to see their dethroned Queen leave their country alone.

Jungkook was all ears. He knew this. He knew all of this. Dara would be naive to think Arver didn't tell Jungkook about their screwed fates since he, partly, sold his heir to a boy at age seventeen. He sold Dara to Jungkook's safety, only because, "He loved me. Arver loved me like he didn't any children but me-an outcast-,"

"You are not an outcast, Your Majesty," Jungkook interrupted, "You are a gift-,"

"You know nothing about me," Dara shook her head, taking Jungkook's hand as the man lifted her up on a big tree bark before they jumped to cross to the other side of the jungle. Dara looked back, the light of North peaking, "Do you think I gave up a little easily?"

"Hmm," Jungkook nodded, "I didn't expect you to get rid of the crown so easily, so quickly. You are not the type to let your belongings slide off your grip so easily-,"

"North does not belong to me," Dara looked at Jungkook, "I am just a border between East and North-so the two realms don't war. So the North won't turn into ashes of the East."

"If East wanted to kill the North, they would have. Even if they can't use proper magic-," Jungkook cut his own words as realization hit him like a brick, "East is waiting for you...?"

Dara threw Jungkook her compass, "From Aevi to Illari. Aevi, Eastern grand witch. Illari, my mother. Aevi's sister. Aevi made this compass for her daughter, my cousin. Unfortunately, Aevi's husband, a black magician-one of the most dangerous wizards in history of the East, granted their daughter the position for the curve. Aevi saw great misfortune with her own daughter, so passed down the compass to Illari and her Southern husband's newly born home."

Jungkook was star-struck, "You?"

"Well. I didn't get it immediately. It happened to be used by many more before Aevi gave it to Illari. No wonder I hear their cries from this compass sometimes. The elf at the marketplace, did tell us about how dangerous the compass is for the wrongful owner. It only accepts the legible ones-I don't know why it accepted me. I am not even pure blood."

Jungkook disagreed, "It protects you. In cases, you are the compass itself. Why do you keep doubting it? Arver adopted you from Illari for a reason, right?"