The Adventures Of Erlin-The Sword In The Stone || A BTS Fan Fiction || Vol. 4

The Wicked Day

First part

It took months to return to their previous lives. Namjoon and Adeoga were the ones who got over Yoongi's death the hardest. Both did not give each other peace, because their guilt always bothered them, without leaving them one day with a sad thought in their heads. Jungkook was no exception, he missed his best friend, but thanks to the closeness of the other knights, especially Jimin, he managed to move on, keeping the memory of Yoongi in his heart. Erlin would have liked to tell the truth, but it would have been suspicious and so she had to keep her mouth shut and watch her friends suffer. The sorceress tried to look for some spells to practice in the books to bring the dead back to life, but many of them were forbidden or impossible to perform, unless the person practicing them was a priest or priestess. She tried to try some of them, with the result that she hurt herself, many times she fainted from too much energy emitted, other times she couldn't even make any sparks. But Erlin was stubborn and wouldn't stop, the Cailleach's words pushed her every day to expand her powers, so, when she had the chance, she went to her secret place, imagining herself in Yoongi's company (so as to give her the right motivation) and trying spells beyond her reach. And many of them were a success, and Erlin was happy. However, she would continue; times were becoming more and more difficult and extra help, even from magic, could have been useful. Now, precisely, no one knew how much time had actually passed, but all of Camelot knew, that the spring breeze, combined with the various chariots with jesters, acrobats and dancers entering the kingdom, indicated the birthday of the prince of Camelot.
"Woah! Did you see how good they were?"
Erlin exclaimed, watching out the window as a man tossed a woman into the air, she somersaulted, landing on her feet in his shoulders. The prince reached her and also looked at the spectacle those people were putting on and twisted his lips into a smile.
"Yes, in fact they have always been excellent. They never disappoint with their stunts."
Namjoon agreed, continuing to look at them; the citizens would have had a very hard time sweeping away the confetti that was thrown every second. The streets of Camelot had become rainbows.
"Will I be invited to your birthday party tonight?"
The sorceress asked, smiling. She wasn't one for parties, but those with shows thrilled her.
"Of course! My best friend can't miss my twenty-fourth birthday."
Namjoon wrapped his arms around the sorceress.
"You're getting old."
Erlin chuckled, poking the prince's waist. Namjoon stopped her immediately, that was his sensitive spot and he squirmed like a fish when someone touched it.
"Don't sing victory, you too will join me in a couple of months."
"Yes, but in the meantime you are the first."
The prince took the sorceress and trapped her with one arm and rubbed his free hand on her head, creating an unpleasant sensation of electricity in the sorceress's head.
"No! Namjoon...please!"
"Then stop saying I'm old!"
The prince laughed, holding Erlin down with all his strength.
"Okay okay!"
The prince released her, but continued to laugh when he saw the state of the sorceress' hair. Erlin snorted, punching Namjoon in the arm, amusing him even more. The two friends, giggling, headed outside to check on the situation and give directions to the people at the show. Two men in particular, named Bong and Dong, entered the great royal hall, carrying their showpieces with them. They placed their large trunk in an open spot in the room and Bong, a short and funny little man, opened it, dug inside and became agitated, disturbing his companion.
"What have you lost this time?"
Dong asked, huffing and grimacing. Bong went on tiptoe, so as to be able to see his friend, the trunk lid was taller than him.
"The gift for the prince, I can't find it anywhere!"
The little guy went back to look for it, more frantic than before. Dong shook his head and deflated his nerves with anger.
"Don't worry about that, I took it upon myself to take care of putting it in a special place."
Dong uncovered the wooden box he was holding and opened it, revealing three daggers, but those weren't the gift. The little guy looked at them, not understanding whether his companion was joking or not.
"We must make sure that this evening is a memorable one for our dear prince."
Dong took one of the three daggers, stopped to look at a precise point of his colored wheel a few meters away from him and threw the object. Bong squeaked as the dagger hit exactly the spot his companion had been eyeing, not missing it by an inch.
"You prepare things for our show, our dear gift is safe."
Bong nodded, clearing his mind of worry about the gift. Speaking of the prince, he now stood in front of his father's room; unfortunately he had to keep him informed of what was happening at court and this time, Angus couldn't do it for him, as he was also busy preparing his party. Namjoon sighed and walked in, his mood changing in a flash of lightning.
"Dooyoung."
The king woke up from his apathy and turned around, he immediately became happier seeing his son.
"Namjoon...come, sit."
The prince just nodded, taking a seat in the chair next to him.
"There are some court affairs I would like to discuss with you."
"Forget about court affairs."
Namjoon looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What?"
"Namjoon...do you think I could ever forget my son's birthday?"
Dooyoung smiled. His mind understood little, but he could never forget Namjoon. He was his only child left, he at least wanted to fix those little things that were left. But the prince was not of the same opinion.
"I heard a lot of noise in the streets of the castle, have the jugglers arrived? Are you throwing a party this evening?"
Namjoon rolled his eyes, all those questions were bothering him. Why was he caring so much about him?
"Yes...yes, there will be a party. You don't have to come."
The prince wanted to change the verb, but he didn't want to worsen his father's mental situation.
"Nonsense, I don't want to miss your party. Besides, I'll have to start doing something again."
Namjoon nodded, not really paying attention to what he said. Once the "birthday", speech was over, the prince briefly explained what was going on and Dooyoung gave him some direction on how to solve some problems. Namjoon left shortly after, not wanting to tire him, Jin had told him not to bombard him with too much information, otherwise his mind would go haywire. To distract himself, he spent time with Adeoga, helping her prepare the festoons and the hours passed quickly, soon it was evening and the party began. A lot of people were present, both nobles and commoners, the knights, Adeoga, Jin, Erlin and the king. Dooyoung, when he made his entrance, received a lot of greetings and applause, being welcomed very warmly and this made him very happy. Before the performances, they ate tasty meals prepared by the royal cooks, filling their stomachs.
"Your father seems fit."
The sorceress whisperead in the prince's ear, looking at the king.
"Yes...it doesn't really comforts me."
Namjoon replied, looking at Dooyoung. He also dressed impeccably and was able to hold quite long conversations. He acted as if what he had done didn't matter and this infuriated the prince.
"Try to enjoy the party, it's your birthday after all."
Erlin didn't prolong the speech, she was aware of the situation between Namjoon and his father.
"If it consoles you, you are truly splendid this evening."
The prince chuckled, turning his head to look at Erlin and notice that she too was impeccably dressed.
"Coming from a princess, it really comforts me."
This time Erlin blushed and giggled, giving Namjoon a small push.
"Did you mistake me for Adeoga, by any chance?"
"What's wrong with complimenting my beautiful best friend?"
Namjoon brought her closer to him, frustrating the poor sorceress even more.
"The thing is, I'm not at all used to hearing you talk like that."
"Then get used to it."
The sorceress and the prince made a toast, clashing their glasses and drinking some wine, even though she didn't like it much. Once the dinner time was over, the jugglers and others arrived to fill the evening with their wonderful shows. They performed fire, acrobatics, knife-throwing and "magic" shows, astonishing and entertaining everyone present. A "Woah!", went up from the crowd as a group pulled Dong into the air, he did a somersault and landed in their arms without harm. The king was the one who was enjoying the atmosphere of the show the most, he was laughing and clapping like a child.
"Now...I need a volunteer!"
Dong announced, returning to the ground and setting his sights on his target.
"Prince Namjoon, what better time to demonstrate your legendary fearless heart. Do you accept the challenge?"
The nominee wanted to refuse, for the simple fact that he had seen his specialty, but making a good impression in front of people was the priority.
"Of course!"
Namjoon exclaimed as he stood up, receiving cheers of encouragement. Erlin helped him take off his jacket.
"I hope that guy will be careful."
The sorceress whispered.
"Could not agree more."
The prince replied, not being too enthusiastic about it. Dong made him climb onto his revolving wheel, the prince held on to some splints, both for his hands and his feet. Dong tied his wrists, Bong his ankles.
"Do not worry, my lord, I never miss my target."
Dong said, taking an apple, passed to him by Bong.
"Good to know."
Namjoon said, quite ironically.
"May I?"
Dong didn't wait for the answer and stuffed the apple into the prince's mouth. Erlin widened her eyes, the target would be the apple! Her anxiety immediately circulated in her blood, could a man be so precise? Bong started spinning the wheel, putting the prince in a very uncomfortable state. He would surely die. Dong took the first dagger, aimed and shot; the weapon embedded itself in the wood of the left side of Namjoon's head. The prince's eyes widened and the crowd shouted in surprise. Adeoga covered her eyes so as not to look. Dong took the second dagger, didn't even aim, just shot. That landed in the wood too, only on the right side of Namjoon's head. The prince had his chest going up and down quickly, now he seriously feared losing his life and people seemed to enjoy seeing him in that state! Dong took the last dagger, showing it to the king, who watched everything with exaggerated interest. Angus, next to Dooyoung, sincerely hoped to see that weapon pierce the prince's throat, thus making Taehyung's job easier. Dong concentrated and pulled the dagger. Erlin prepared to use magic, the first two shoots were just luck, she didn't trust this. The crowd screamed, the weapon pierced...the apple in the mouth that the prince was holding. Another wave of applause flooded the room, Adeoga returned to breathing normally, she was going to have an argument with the prince, he couldn't always put himself in danger with these stupid shows. Namjoon got off the wheel, thanks to the help of a large, tall man; he rubbed his wrists, the ropes were too tight. He held the apple in his hand, Dong didn't want it back, so he gave it to him. The prince returned to the sorceress and put his jacket back on.
"Apparently there was nothing to worry about."
The prince smiled, eating a piece of apple.
"Because he got lucky, some of these games don't always end well."
Erlin scolded him. No matter how well a person knew how to throw knives (or any weapon), even the slightest wrong movement, such as a sudden blow of wind, the person or thing in the target, would end badly. Dong stared at the prince as the party continued and leaned close to Bong's ear.
"In a couple of hours the sleeping pill in the apple will start to take effect, the prince will have no defense. And then we will strike him."
Bong chuckled and nodded, their gift had finally been delivered! Namjoon sat back down and finished his glass of wine while he watched the shows continue. The evening passed smoothly, no hiccups. Erlin also spent time with the knights, especially Jimin, who had no intention of letting her go and continued to make advances towards her, which made the others uncomfortable. The king seemed to be back to his old self, but he got tired pretty quickly, so, Adeoga took him back to the room, having to interrupt her sweet conversation with Namjoon. On the other hand, everything ended wonderfully: the people present had fun, they laughed and general happiness finally returned.
"Oh, are you ok, sire?"
Erlin asked, seeing the prince stagger.
"Ugh...yeah, I'm...just tired."
Namjoon yawned, he was fighting to keep his eyes open. Which was strange, because until a few minutes ago, he felt full of energy.
"Come, I'll take you to your room."
The sorceress put her arm around his waist, took one of the prince's arms and twisted it around her shoulders.
"You were really brave to get on that wheel."
Erlin tried to get him to talk, so as to keep him active. Meanwhile they were heading towards his room.
"Yes, well...to be honest I was shaking."
Namjoon muttered, dragging his legs and leaning more into Erlin.
"Oh, so you're telling me, that Kim Namjoon, future king of Camelot, was afraid?"
The sorceress teased him, pulling the prince's body back onto her. They weren't far from his room.
"Yeah, I may be a warrior, but sometimes...fear can't be controlled."
Erlin opened the door to Namjoon's room and the prince found the strength to break away from the sorceress and walk alone.
"You know, I'm proud of you for being honest with me. Or maybe it's just the wine that makes you talk."
The sorceress giggled, seeing how the prince lowered himself onto the bed like a sack of potatoes.
"Are you saying I'm drunk?"
The prince ate half the words, increasing Erlin's laughter.
"I can't tell, you seem asleep and drunk at the same time. And I must admit, it amuses me."
Namjoon yawned, scratching his head, he was starting to understand even his words less.
"Nice of you to laugh at me when I'm in this state."
The prince stood up, pointing to himself and taking off his belt, it was bothering him.
"You know...now that I think about it, I saw my father looking strange before I left, maybe I should go check if he's okay."
Namjoon staggered to the door.
"You can't go out."
The sorceress said, not turning around.
"And why?"
"Because your pants fell off."
The sorceress tried not to laugh. Strange how he didn't notice they were lowered when he took off the belt. It took the prince's brain a few seconds to assimilate the words said by his friend, he lowered his head and chuckled too, seeing his legs exposed.
"You're attentive."
The prince teased her, causing Erlin to die of uncontrollable laughter. Namjoon pulled up his pants and walked out, he would give Dooyoung a quick check, then leave. He entered his father's room, yawning for the second time. He opened his eyelids to their maximum and saw him asleep in his usual chair. Namjoon nodded, but could no longer stand. He collapsed into the chair next to Dooyoung's and closed his eyes, not falling asleep. A strange sensation told him to bring his eyelids back up and so he did. His gaze fell on the silver jug and saw a figure approaching him with a sword. The adrenaline from fear made him jump to his feet and avoid being severed by the sword. He took his and made it collide with the enemy one. He almost fell, but found the strength to stay still and looked at the alleged murderer: it was Dong, the showman who threw the knives at him.
"Guards!"
He said weakly, trying to keep up with his opponent. Dong sneered, he had killed those who were guarding the king's door.
"Guards!"
The prince said again, feeling the fatigue in his arms. Dong gave Namjoon's sword a hard swing, causing him to spin around and lose his weapon. The prince found himself on the ground, without energy. Dong approached and raised his sword, finally with his death, the kingdom would have someone better on the throne to command the people.
"Goodbye, Kim Namjoon!"
Dong tried to strike him, but another sword stopped him. The prince raised his head, it was the king.
"A coward like you can't kill my son."
Dooyoung growled. The various noises had woken him up and he immediately took control of his mind. Dong grimaced and fought the king and unexpectedly, Dooyoung stood up to him. The king dodged a slash and Dong's sword stuck in the wood of a chair, Dooyoung stopped to catch his breath and unfortunately, Dong managed to free the sword from the wood. The king began to feel tired, he could only deflect the blows, but not respond. To stop his opponent, he dropped a candlestick on him, which did not cause him any damage, only blocked his path, but overcame him with ease. Dong resumed fighting and the king managed to raise his sword, but in a few seconds, he found himself lying on a table, with the opponent's weapon pointed at him. He slipped away just in time, before getting impaled. Dong sighed, the time was prolonging for nothing! He pulled away the sword stuck in the table and threw himself on the king again, Namjoon wanted to intervene, but he didn't have the strength. Dooyoung received a kick in the knees, he fell to the ground groaning in pain, giving the green light for the knife thrower to go towards the prince again.
"Do you want to say something to your son before I kill him?"
Dong had to duck, otherwise Dooyoung's sword would cut off his head. Dooyoung threw three blows, driven by anger and put Dong in difficulty. He punched him in the face and tripped him; Dong found himself on the ground in a daze. The king raised his sword, he now had no escape. Dong reached behind him and took one of his knives. At the same time, they sank their weapons. Dong stifled a groan and died, Dooyoung felt his breath blocked and dropped his sword. Namjoon's eyes widened and he stood up, catching his father in his arms before he could fall.
"Dooyoung..."
Namjoon couldn't hold two weights and sat on the floor next to the bed. In the hand that held his father's waist, he felt something liquid wet it, and he raised it. He was horrified to see blood in his palm and more that it was soaking the king's white shirt.
"Guards!"
Namjoon called, making his voice as loud as he could, his tiredness disappearing. Dooyoung was breathing hard and his eyes were opening and closing, as if he no longer had control over them.
"Stay with me..."
The king whispered, managing to look at his son. Namjoon saw the life leave him from them.
"I am here."
Namjoon said, his chest going up and down quickly. He no longer considered him his father, but what person would wish death on one of their relatives, when you had loved him with all your heart?
"GUARDS! Help...help me! Quick."
Namjoon struggled to speak due to the lump forming in his throat.
"It's my time..."
Dooyoung said in a small voice.
"No, you can't die."
Not like that, it wasn't fair.
"I know you will make me proud...as you always have, you will be a great king."
He wouldn't be there, but he would watch from the other world. And he would have been proud of him anyway.
"I'm not ready."
The prince's eyes became teary.
"You've been ready for a long time."
Dooyoung stopped for a second, he felt a searing pain starting from his heart.
"I wasn't a good father...I always put myself first."
The prince said nothing, because to deny it would only infuriate all those people he had killed.
"But I know one thing, Namjoon...I've always loved you."
The prince bit his lip and let a tear fall. He didn't feel like saying a word, he had loved his father, and Dooyoung's love towards him, he rejected it, he didn't want it. And he felt guilty, because now that he was in his arms, he was once again the king he once was and he was showing nothing but silence.
"GUARDS!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs as Dooyoung let go of gravity, closing his eyes. Finally, after a few seconds of pure terror, some guards arrived and, under the prince's orders, carefully put him to bed. Namjoon ran towards Jin's room and entered rudely, startling both the doctor and the sorceress.
"Jin...my father...the acrobat w-with the sword...he's hurt-"
"Sire, breathe and tell me what happened."
The doctor put his hands on his shoulders, Erlin reached for him, fearing something bad. The prince, seeing her too, calmed down and found the strength to speak.
"They hurt my father...he's bleeding!"
Jin and Erlin felt their hearts stop and, together with Namjoon, headed towards the king's room. The doctor moved the guards, undressed the king and examined the wound and frowned.
"Erlin, go get my medical bag, I have to perform an operation, immediately!"
The sorceress nodded and did as requested, running at super sonic speed. Returning to the room, she gave the bag to Jin and the doctor began his operation. Namjoon ordered the guards to take Dong's body and take him out to do research and find out all the information about him. The prince clung to the sorceress as he watched Jin carry out his operation, he was anxious the whole time, Erlin's caresses and words of comfort were of little use, his mind had only negative thoughts. The sky outside was lit up by the first light of dawn, meaning that many hours had passed, no one could say how many. Jin sighed, his concentration was burning all his energy, he was starting to get tired and streams of sweat were constantly falling from his forehead. The operation was very delicate, if he missed a few steps, there would be little left for the king to do. When the sky turned light blue, the doctor finished his work and unfortunately, he did not bring good news. Adeoga also arrived, around that time she always went to the king and when she saw all his friends together, she became worried. The prince took her aside and explained what happened and Adeoga ended up in the same anxious hole as Namjoon.
"Jin."
The doctor went to Namjoon, after arranging the king's blankets.
"Can you cure him?"
The prince asked in a low voice. Jin forced his mouth to open.
"The blade touched the heart. He's bleeding from the inside."
Namjoon froze for a second and sighed.
"There has to be a way to cure him."
Jin had basically told him that there was no hope for his father and he didn't want to give up. Dooyoung wouldn't die like this, he couldn't!
"Do something, please, Jin."
The doctor felt his soul fall to the ground.
"It's only a matter of time, unfortunately. I'm sorry, Namjoon, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."
Namjoon frowned and turned his head to stare at the king, tears in his eyes. So it ended like this? Would Kim Dooyoung's life come to an end so unfairly? Namjoon, besides being sad, was furious with himself, because he could do nothing against the hand of death. Erlin looked at him and felt sorry, but something inside her blew up and happiness turned her off her guilt.
"Sire."
A guard entered, catching everyone's attention.
"You are needed in the council chamber."
The prince nodded and said goodbye to his friends, to follow the guard. In the destination room, he saw Angus and Hoseok inside.
"Uncle."
The nominee came forward and hugged his nephew, pretending to be sorry. Namjoon reciprocated, trying to contain himself and pulled away a few seconds later, waving at Hoseok with sad eyes.
"What do you have to say to me?"
"We have discovered where the murderer comes from, he lives in the village of Whenahn, it is located in the Mujin Kingdom. He wanted to avenge the death of his son, killed some time ago by..."
The prince stopped his uncle with one hand. He knew that city, some time ago there was a war in which he also participated and where he killed many innocent people, unfortunately. He was still a pompous boy, who wanted to show his father how strong he could be and he was embarassed to have taken the lives of so many innocents on a whim. And among which was the son of King Mujin, which he bitterly regretted, because when Mujin came to find out about his death, he never gave himself peace towards the kingdom of Camelot. Although he disappeared lately for unknown reasons
"I'm with you, Namjoon. So, if I can do anything..."
Angus was jumping for joy from inside, when Taehyung would hear the news, they would share this beautiful moment together, so as to celebrate the death of their enemy!
"Your support is important to me, thank you."
Angus bowed, trying not to smile, and left the room with Hoseok, who sent the prince a look of condolence. Namjoon sighed and paced back and forth, the king was dying, at the end of the day, because of his mistake. And who knows how, the prince blamed himself for everything. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up, seeing the sorceress in the doorway.
"Any news?"
The prince asked her, reaching her.
"No changes."
The sorceress replied, in a dejected tone. Namjoon called himself stupid, what could change in a few minutes?
"Is there really nothing to do?"
The sorceress shook her head slowly. The prince took her back into his arms, hoping at least that she could comfort him with her presence.
"I'm sorry, we're doing everything we can."
The sorceress said, patting his back. About the king's impending death, she concluded, that she didn't care much about it, but about Namjoon's sadness, she took it to her heart.
"I know, I don't blame you."