《 The Seven Princes 》

001

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You were laying on something wet. That was the first thing you realised as your mind began to compose itself.

You couldn't quite remember what had just happened. Last thing you remembered you were sitting in your room waiting for the game to load, and then you were here. You sat up, rolling your shoulders slightly to stretch the cramp that had formed in your back. For just how long had you been lying here? You cough, looking around.

You were in a glade of what seemed like a densely wooded area, but the area around you wasn't like what you were used to. Where you were from, trees certainly weren't blue. The sea-green grass was scattered with small white flowers that glistened ever so slightly whenever a beam of sunlight would hit them. You could faintly hear the sound of a running stream, but couldn't locate the source. Next to you, a large purple flower stood proudly, it's petals seemingly dripping a purple solution onto the ground.

How strange. You thought, instantly being compelled to reach out and touch the water. When your fingertip touched the liquid, you felt a sharp pain run through you, almost like an electric shock. Eyelids growing heavy, you fall back down into the grass, just having enough time to think that today wasn't going that well for you.

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You awoke to the sound of hoofbeats close by, and immediately shot up into a seated position.
You look around the clearing, the hoofbeats seemingly coming from the very heart of the shrubbery on your left, and drawing nearer.

And then you saw them, four people seated on pristine black horses, just managing to escape from the dense thicket.

"This is why we need to stick to the path, Sir." One man said, "It's very easy to get lost in Aeschel Forest."

The man at the front, obviously the leader of the pack, swept his silver hair out of his face and turned to the man who had just spoken.

"I thought it'd be a good shortcut, but I feel as if we're going around in circles." He said, finally looking around the clearing and laying his eyes on you.

Startled, his eyebrows rise, before furrowing as his eyes narrowed into a cold glare. In one swift move, he drew his sword, not bothering to dismount his horse as he held the cold metal close to your head.

"Speak, elf." He spat, gesturing with his spare hand for his companions to come up alongside him. It was then when you noticed that they were perhaps not quite as human as you had originally thought. All three of them sported vibrant shades of hair; pink, green and blue, with large black eyes and ornate wings sprouting out of their backs, casting patterns in the grass that could be likened to stained glass. The leader was a lot more human in features, yet his hair was silver and his eyes were a stunning shade of aquamarine, littered with flecks of dark blue.

Confused, your instant reaction was to defend yourself by any means possible, and so, still not entirely sure of the situation, you start to protest, "I'm not an elf! Elves don't even exist, and I'm not entirely sure if you're real too. I don't know how I got here, and I just want to go home."

"I bet you do, spy." The silver-haired male hissed, drawing his sword closer to you.

Before you could speak again, another male on a horse surprises you by leaping into the clearing, also startling the others who were there.

Completely ignoring everyone else's presence, the new man's eyes zeroed on to the silver-haired male.

"Taehyung, what do you think you're doing so close to my borders? I received reports that there was some commotion here earlier, but I didn't expect you to stoop as low as attempting to invade me in broad daylight." The new man, who had rose gold hair and golden eyes said, circling his silver horse further away from the other group.

The man, who you assumed was called Taehyung, lifted his chin at the other male. "Seokjin, I was attending the yearly summit when I got lost in the forest. I was just returning back home now." He said, moving his sword away from you and back into it's sheath. Obviously, this newcomer, Seokjin, posed a larger threat to Taehyung than a supposed elf spy. "By the way," Taehyung continued, still eyeing Seokjin heavily, "Why weren't you at the summit? Planning on breaking ties with the rest of us and invading the entire island? I always knew you were up to something dirty, you rat."

Seokjin's horse jerked forward, almost as if it itself objected to the claims Taehyung was making. Seokjin clenched his jaw, and firmly said, "I actually sent Jungkook this year, after he begged me for days to let him leave the castle. Was he not there?"

Now both men looked confused.

"No." Taehyung said simply, face softening as he obviously tried to recall the events of this so called 'summit'. "Jeez, that kid." Seokjin complained to himself, grumbling like an old man and looking around the clearing in embarrassment.

This lead him to locking eyes with you.

In an almost comically identical way to how Taehyung reacted, Seokjin jumps in surprise at your appearance.

"An elf!" He growls, fumbling for his sword at his side and eventually drawing it, pointing the tip at you from where he stood several meters away. Furious, he turns to Taehyung. "I can't believe even you have teamed up with the elves to infiltrate my borders, how weak of you."

Taehyung looked blankly from Seokjin to you. "I don't know her." He says, picking at his fingernails, "She was here when I got here."

"Then it must've been Namjoon. Gods, I would've thought someone like him could've pulled off a more subtle attack, especially with the help of elven magic, yet here she is sitting right before me. I have captured you, elf!" Seokjin says triumphantly, sheathing his sword and looking proud of himself.

Finding this the right moment to talk and attempt to defend yourself again, you start to speak again. "I am not an elf." You say firmly, looking at both men narrow their eyes at you in suspicion. "I have no idea who the hell Namjoon is or what the hell elven magic is meant to be. I'm just an ordinary girl who would like to go home please."

"That's just what an elf would say." You hear one of them mutter, but you weren't sure which one. Sighing, you decide to give up with speaking as it obviously wasn't getting very far.
Clearing his throat, Taehyung looks back to Seokjin.

"Well," he says, ushering his entourage out of the clearing, "I best be off. I'm sure Jimin is waiting for me at home."

Seokjin's face hardens and he nods. "I shall take this elf with me." He says, watching as Taehyung and his horse disappear from the clearing. When Taehyung was truly gone, he muttered to himself, just loud enough for you to hear "So long, brother."

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