Apocalypse | BTS ✓

21

The smell of food brings Reine back to her senses as she sits and stretches. Her unconscious thoughts were filled with images of her parents, whether they were smiling lovingly at their only child or laughing maniacally as people fell dead at their feet. It was a never-ending nightmare; when one image would die out, another would take its place and Reine felt helpless as she watched her parents die a hundred times.

Sometimes, they would die as her parents. Other times, they were the greedy, selfish rulers that everyone wanted dead. But still, even in her dreams, her mind would not accept them as the same people.

Her heart is such a fragile little thing, and her conscience is doing its best to protect it from crumbling further.

"Reine," Jimin's voice sounds from the other side of the shelter and she glances over to see the three men gathered around the fire as Jimin pulls some food from the heat.

"Good morning," Yoongi says, smiling at her and Reine frowns.

"Morning?" she asks, her mind groggy as she glances at the sprinkling of rain outside the shelter.

"You slept a long time," Taehyung says, glancing at her for a moment before turning his attention away.

Reine frowns when she realizes that when she laid down to take a nap yesterday, she apparently slept through the rest of the day and the night too.

"You must have been exhausted," Yoongi says, gesturing for her to come sit beside him. She does, stretching her limbs as she comes to take her place next to him.

"We didn't want to bother you by waking you, so we let you rest," Jimin says, shrugging as he hands her some food.

"No wonder I felt like I had been trapped there for so long," Reine whispers to herself, but the men around her hear it.

"Trapped where?" Taehyung surprises her by asking.

Jimin sends her a knowing look, and Yoongi leans over and whispers into her ear.

"Are you okay now?" he asks, his breath brushing against her ear.

Reine nods, hoping this isn't something the three will dwell on as she eats quickly. "We're leaving today?"

"Yes," Jimin says, glancing over at Yoongi and Taehyung for a moment before turning back to Reine. "We can't waste any more time. Our last brother waits."

"Your strongest brother," Reine says, finishing her meal more quickly than she would have liked, but she was using her mouth full of food as a reason not to speak about the nightmares.

"We can all sense him, even from here," Yoongi explains. "He must be projecting himself for the sake of us finding him more quickly. I can't imagine he's too happy that we're taking so long."

Reine sighs, knowing this will ultimately reflect badly on her when he is freed and he demands to know why they were so slow in getting to him.

"It wasn't you," Jimin says, as though he can read her thoughts. "We insisted on the extra time to rest. You obviously needed it. Do you feel better now?"

"Don't worry about me," Reine says, shaking her head as she stands. "There's no point in wasting any more time, right? We must go."

"It won't take as long to get there," Yoongi says as he and his brothers stand alongside Reine as Jimin puts out the fire. "We have been camping close to the outskirts of the northern region. That's why it's been so cold."

"L'Hiveter is what we call the bitter cold region of the north," Reine explains, and Jimin nods as if he knows already while Yoongi and Taehyung gather their things.