All That Glitters is Not Gold (BTS X Reader)

Chapter 2

"Y/N, are you crazy?" Kai asked, a look of panic on his face. "You can't be serious."

I put the canteen of water into my satchel then made my way towards Reese. "It's the only way Kai. There's no other way around the curse," I said. I leaned down and checked Reese's coat for my papa's dagger. It was in the same pocket he always kept it in. The dagger had been crafted from silver mined from the mountains on the Isle of Hope and the gems had been a gift from a queen for saving her daughter. When our parents left for their gem hunting expedition, my papa entrusted the dagger to Reese. He never came back for it. I pulled the dagger from Reese's coat and slid it into the satchel.

"Do you even know how to find the Dark Wizard?" Kai asked.

I shrugged. "I have an idea. My parents used to talk about it all the time. There's a path on the other side of the North Woods. I have to follow it past the Night Woods, through the Daybreak Mountains, past Heavenly Rock, and cross the Vacant River. Once I cross the river, I have to go past Departed Castle, past the Inferno, and then through Wolf Woods. The Dark Wizard's castle should be just beyond Wolf Woods."

Kai shook his head. "How did you remember all that?" he asked.

I shrugged. "My mama and papa talked about it often. I think they knew the Dark Wizard. They never spoke about him in fear as most people do," I explained simply. I sighed and brushed Reese's hair back again before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I promise dear brother, I will find a cure for this. I will bring you back to yourself," I whispered.

I turned to leave and Kai put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "I will stay here and watch over him," he said gently. He pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

"Thank you Kai," I said. "I do appreciate it."

Kai nodded, then pulled a familiar envelope from his pocket. "When you return, we need to discuss this," he said, holding the envelope up.

I looked at the envelope in horror. "Did Reese give..." I stopped, not able to finish the question.

Kai shook his head quickly. "No. When the curse hit him, it slipped from his pocket as he fell. Since it had my name on it, I assumed it was for me."

I flushed in embarrassment. I had never meant for Kai to see that letter. It detailed all my feelings for him. I looked down at the door handle, refusing to meet his eyes.

Kai put a finger under my chin and lifted my face to his. "We will talk Y/N," he said, as he leaned down and kissed my cheek before hugging me tightly again. "Be safe and come back to us. Come back to me," he whispered in my ear.

I returned the hug and made my way out the door, satchel slung across my body. I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and made my way down the path to the road. I looked for the markings in the road that would signal the way towards the North Woods, finding them quickly.

I followed the markings on the road leading towards the North Woods. After seeing what the North Witch had done to my brother, I stayed on the far side of the path, closer to the field. I was incredibly lucky I didn't have to go through the North Woods.

The North Witch was known for being relentless and unusually cruel. She entertained herself by cursing the villagers that dared to wander too close to her cabin. She used to focus solely on good magic, but had a spell go wrong for the king's daughter of a neighboring kingdom. The king's daughter had asked for a loveliness spell. She had been betrothed to a prince, but the prince did not love her because, although extremely kind, she lacked beauty. The witch had refused her request at first, but gave in to the heartbroken princess. The spell had worked wonderfully for a few weeks, but then something went horribly wrong. The princess began to age quickly. Within weeks, she was dead. The king had banished the witch to the North Woods. Overcome with grief for what she had done to the princess, the North Witch fell into despair. She had begged for the king's forgiveness, but he attempted to strip her of her magic. The North Witch retaliated and flew into a rage. She threatened to curse the entire kingdom if anyone ever attempted to strip of her powers. She had hidden in the North Woods and had been there since.

My mama and papa used to tell me the story of the North Witch all the time. They warned me to avoid the North Woods at all costs. My friends from the village used to swim at the waterfall in the North Woods. It came crisp and clean down the mountain and flowed into a beautiful pool, but I steered clear of those times.

My heart sank as I thought of my mama and papa. Mama had been one of the most gifted healers in the village. Her musical voice was soothing to tortured souls and her gentle hands could calm even the most tiresome patients. I wondered what she would have done if she were here. I know she would have been able to cure Reese. I sighed and tried to put the thoughts of mama and papa out of my mind. I had to focus on the task at hand and save my brother.

I followed the path around the North Woods, listening to the sounds coming from within. Most of the sounds were familiar: the high-pitched clicking from the crickets, the low booming echo from the bullfrogs at the pond, and a soft coo from a snowy owl. These were sounds that reminded me of mama and papa. We used to sit on the porch after sundown and listen as the North Woods came alive. Papa used to love to listen to the owls and watch as the bats went for their nightly meal. He would tease me that one day, a bat would come down and take the shape of a man that would drag me off. It used to scare me so terribly that I never wanted to leave the porch after dark. This was papa's goal after all. He just wanted to keep me as safe as possible.

As I neared the end of the North Woods and the beginning of the Night Woods, I heard a quiet sound. I took a couple steps further as the sounds grew louder. It was someone crying. I stopped and listened. No. Not just crying. The person was sobbing as if their entire soul had been betrayed.

I rounded the edge of the Night Woods and looked for the source of the sound. As the moon came out from behind the clouds, it lit up the path. I saw movement from the corner of my eye and caught sight of something. At first I thought it was an animal, but as I moved closer, I could see that I was wrong. Leaning against the base of a tree at the edge of the Night Woods was a small figure, crying as though their heart was breaking.