sɴᴏᴡᴛᴀᴇ│ᴛᴋ [reposting]

.xɪx.

It turned out Taehyung had a gift with horses. And there were quite a few pulling the Caravan's numerous carriages to take care of. He would feed them twice a day and spend the evenings grooming them. It wasn't long before he noticed he did not have to think much about the task itself because his hands somehow knew what to do.

Four days had gone by since he had been off Anise's diet, and he felt the fog in his mind slowly lifting. He had hoped the withdrawal symptoms would consequently dwindle, but on the contrary, they were becoming worse every time.

"This is no ordinary spell," said Renée as they were getting him ready for another gruelling night.

She had to tie the boy's hands and feet so he wouldn't hurt himself or others, and place a wooden stick in his mouth to avoid his tongue from being bitten off or swallowed.

Taehyung had learned to trust her, so he let her tighten the straps around his wrists and ankles. "Do you have knowledge of magic?"

"Not really. I've only witnessed its might on a few occasions, and I do know that it requires subsistence to grow and thrive. Seeing as you are still suffering from its aftermath, I must ask: what did those desserts actually cost you?"

The prince tilted his head to the side, unable to recall Anise demanding any form of payment for lodging and meals.

"You may not have given them anything consciously but they obviously stole a lot from you to sustain such a powerful spell. What did you lose during the time they fed you?"

"All my memories are gone," Taehyung admitted, feeling as foolish as ever.

The woman sighed. "A word of advice, Son: people might try to take advantage of that, so be careful." She couldn't elaborate as the boy suddenly spasmed, letting out a painful groan.

When morning came, the sheets were soaked and the ties were stained with blood. Renée looked exhausted. As she released him, she made up her mind. "We need to get you hooked on something else."

The idea that in order to rid himself of one addiction, he had to swap it for another did not quite befit the young man who only wished to be free of any form of reliance. "I'm not liking the sound of that."

"Don't worry. I won't ask you to start smoking or drinking. I had in mind something a little more ... romantic."

Too tired to object, Taehyung shook his head thinking this was likely the silliest thing he had ever heard.

🍎

"Get up, Jeon! It's time to repay your debt to our community."

Jungkook growled but followed the Sheriff willy-nilly as he really had no choice.

"I trust you won't try to run away. Or do I need you to strap these on?"

The dwarf eyed the shackles and snickered. "Honestly?"

"Fine. We all know where you live anyway."

And off they were to meet the head of the Caravan who was presently discussing with the town's mayor the best location to set up camp. "This mining town has always been a challenge for us because of your scarce resources. We need water you see."

"And we don't have much of it. I suggest you stay on higher ground. We could ask the dwarfs to provide you with fresh water as their mountain is full of underground springs."

The Sheriff butt in. "I believe we have just the person for this task."

Turning to Jungkook, he almost reached out to shake his hand before changing his mind. "Congratulations, Jeon. You've just been promoted to water carrier."

🍎

The job wasn't so bad. In fact, it suited Jungkook quite well for the mindless task required minimal use of the brain and quite a bit of heavy lifting. Focused on spilling as little water as possible on each of his trips, the dwarf was not at leisure to overthink.

He had just spent a few days in jail, doing nothing but reliving memories that hurt now more than ever, crying himself to sleep every night, visualising events he would much rather forget. There was no point in ruminating the past. This much he was aware of. If only he could convince his mind and heart to quit looking back and start facing forward.

Armed with newfound determination, he focalized on the good night sleep he was going to get that evening as the Sheriff had allowed for him to return home, provided he showed up at dawn the following morning.

It is no wonder his brain didn't register what his eyes were seeing. Taehyung was on the run somewhere, perhaps all the way across the kingdom. The red-hair boy by the mounts was just a lad who looked like him.

But what were the odds his behaviour would replicate that of his missing love? Jungkook stopped in his tracks, observing the gentle strokes, the whispers into the horse's ears, the brushing of the mane...

And in that instant, he was given his life back.

Dropping the buckets without second thoughts, he rushed toward Taehyung and did the only thing he could: hold him. This time, he promised himself never to let go.

Where the hell have you been? Why is your hair different? How did you get that little tummy?

So many questions flooded his mind but Jungkook feared his loved one would vanish if he stopped squeezing. For now, the hug would have to do. And he was determined to make it last as long as needed for his brain to finally accept this dream as reality.

That's when something unexpected happened. Something that felt very wrong. Two hands started kindly but firmly pushing him away.

His eyes widened at the evading touch, and his heart twinged at the sudden lack of it. Jungkook had imagined all the possible ways his reuniting with Taehyung would go.

All but one it seemed.

"Do I know you?"

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