Chapter Text
*
Riding through the eerie quiet, forbidding, lands of Arlene at midnight was a bad idea.
The dense and humid forest could easily snuff out his puny torch if it wanted to - the Fae of Arlene hadn't forgiven him for rejecting their petition this month.
But Namjoon didn't care.
He needed some fresh air after everything that had gone down with the Council this morning.
"My King, should we turn back?"
Namjoon sighed. "No Jackson. Not yet. I-"
A ear-splitting wail cut through the night sending his horse into a frenzy.
"What was that?"
Jackson frowned and raised his torch. The warm fire showed an empty path two feet in front of them. But it wasn't enough to pierce the darkness that hid the source of wailing.
"Is it one of the Fae? Are they mimicking the wails of a baby to fool me into their trap?"
"No, my King. I don't sense any presence of the Fae of Arlene. Maybe it's a human-"
Namjoon was shaking his head before Jackson could finish his sentence. "No. The portals are sealed and Yoongi has guards stationed at the border. Nothing can pass through without alerting him."
Jackson fidgeted with the reins of his horse, and Namjoon let out a short bark of laughter. "I know you don't have much faith in Yoongi when it comes to spell work."
"No, my King-"
"But, you need to trust me."
"Yes, my King." Jackson gave a short bow.
"There can be no breach, not from the human lands." Namjoon assured him, and pulled on the reins.
The horse huffed in protest. Whatever was wailing on the other side of the darkness had unsettled the animal.
At times like this, Namjoon missed his stallion. Skye would have barged in, searching for the source of wailing.
"No." Namjoon shook his head. Skye would have caused a ruckus.
None of the Council members could know he was here.
"Let's go." Namjoon said and pulled at the reigns again. His horse didn't budge.
At this rate they weren't going to make any progress. Namjoon sighed and got down from the horse.
"My King?"
Namjoon led the horse to a nearby tree and tied it's reins. "We'll go on foot."
"Yes, my King." Jackson took the lead, walking into the darkness and in the direction of the wailing.
The sound had grown fainter during the time it took them to enter the darkness.
Namjoon and the Fae of Arlene weren't allies, but they weren't enemies either. However, trespassing their territory without notifying the Lady of Arlene was going to be an issue if they wandered deeper into the forest.
They walked for a mile before Jackson came to an abrupt stop.
"What is it?"
"My King, it's a baby."
Namjoon started to move forward. Jackson stopped him. "It's not alone."
Just as he finished speaking, a blast of wind attacked Jackson, aiming for his chest. He flicked his wrist, changing the direction of the attack. The condensed wind boomeranged to it's owner.
Namjoon heard a small huff, before another blast of wind charged towards them. The wind brought with it a faint scent.
"Jasmine."
"Yes." Jackson nodded. "It's one of the Winter Fae. But I can't get a sense on the attacker. He's a mix of-" he stopped midway and raised his head, sniffing the air.
"Huh? What's a halfling doing in this part of the Arlene?"
"It seems -" Jackson flicked his wrist and once again, the wind flew back to it's owner. The second attack was weak compared to the first attack. The halfling's borrowed spell was losing power. It wouldn't be long before they found his hiding spot.
Jackson raised his hand to attack again.
"Wait!" Someone shouted.
Jackson stepped in front of Namjoon, and though it annoyed him, Namjoon maintained his position. They couldn't let their guard down in front of the Winter Fae.
"Who are you?" Jackson asked.
"I'm one of the Winter King's personal guard."
Namjoon couldn't help but chuckle. Lying to a Fae was as good as killing oneself. And worse yet, the halfling could have chosen any lie, yet he chose this one lie to throw at them. The new Winter King would die rather then entertain the idea of keeping a halfling as his personal guard.
"It's the truth!" The halfling shouted.
"My King..."
"I know." Namjoon nodded. It had hit him a second later - the scent of truth from the halfling. Still -
"Let's pretend we don't believe him. Ask for the seal."
"Yes, my King."
"Do you have proof?" Jackson asked.
"Yes." The halfling pulled out a roughly wrapped package from one of the inside pockets of his patched overcoat. "Here."
He pulled off the parchment of paper around the seal, brandishing it in front of Jackson.
Namjoon watched as the former Commander in Chief took a step towards the halfling and the baby sprawled on the forest floor.
A few minutes passed and Jackson remained silent.
"Is it the Winter King's order? Or -"
"Yes. He has the order seal. But-" Jackson said.
"But...what?"
"He isn't dressed in the Winter guard attire."
Namjoon stepped closer to the baby and the halfling, and shared Jackson's confusion.
Though halfling proclaimed to be one of the guards, his fidgety body language, clothes and build said otherwise. The Winter guards were well-bred warriors, built and trained to win or die trying. They were ruthless and marred their faces with scars from each victory on the battlefield.
The halfling had no resemblance to any of the Winter guards Namjoon had come in contact during his years fighting.
"I'm not lying." The halfling said and took a step in their direction. His dark eyes darted between the baby and them, and he seemed to come to a decision.
"Please...his life is in danger. The Queen wants him dead. I'm under the Winter King's order to find a safe haven for him."
"What? Wait -"
"Her spies already have his scent. They're tracking us as we speak. Please -"
"I don't understand." Namjoon stared at the baby and back at the guard. They were close enough for him to pick the baby's scent. He was of the royal bloodline. "He belongs to the royal family, but the Queen wants him dead? And the Winter King is trying to save him?"
Jackson shifted to the side, giving Namjoon his first look at the guard.
Pasty pale skin glowed under the yellow torch light, muddy gold hair fell to his shoulder, his eyes held a feverish look and showed whites, his hands were curled in fists at his sides and his body stiff under their presence.
"Ah-" Jackson sighed and turned to face Namjoon.
"This offspring is of the Winter King and a low-born." Jackson looked to guard, and he nodded, confirming Jackson's guess. "He is the illegitimate son of the Winter King."
"No wonder the Queen wants him dead." Namjoon muttered to himself.
The Winter Queen was notorious for clinging to pure blood relations, and obsessed over purebred Fae royals and families. Her family was known to have the most marital ties within siblings among the Courts.
They believed it kept the blood from corrupting.
If they knew the Winter King had romance with a low-born Fae, and an offspring had followed, it would complicate their already fragile bonds.
And worse yet, affect the treaty between their Courts.
Namjoon couldn't have that. He had worked hard to maintain peace within the Court after the war. He was still in midst of convincing the Council, who had doubts about his leadership. Another attack would push him back to square one, back to the ruins of his past.
"My King-" Jackson raised his head and stared into the darkness. "They're getting closer as we speak. We need to leave now."
"Please-"
Namjoon had no plans on being a part of the scandal. But-
"How old is the baby?"
"Six months old." The guard answered.
"Where's his mother?"
"She died when she gave birth to him."
Jackson gave a slight shake of his head. "No, my King. This is a dangerous decision."
Namjoon sighed and gave him a sad smile. "You know me so well."
"Yes." Jackson returned an unsure smile, but it disappeared with his next words. "Still, we can't be a part of this child's disappearance, my King. It's too dangerous."
"I know, but-" Namjoon stared at the baby.
It was unaware of the dangers and played with it's toes - a picture of innocence and untainted mind.
The sight reminded him of his brothers. The time when they were crying babies that fit in his arms. He, Yoongi and Seokjin had raised the other three, putting up with their tantrums and crying and the petty fights and drama, until Namjoon was seconds away from pulling his hair and giving up his position as their guardian.
But they had pulled through.
He had watched them grow to be better Fae Princes and individuals.
How could he let this little Fae suffer it's untimely death?
He was someone's brother, someone's hope... someone's promise.
It wasn't the child's fault that his parents were unable to provide him a life.
"My King? What are you thinking?" Jackson asked, though Namjoon had a suspicion he already knew what he was about to do. His advisor was good at reading people, and he was never wrong when it came to Namjoon.
"What's your name?" Namjoon asked the guard.
"Kai."
"Kai." Namjoon took a step towards the baby. "The Winter King ordered you to find a safe haven for this child?"
"That's right, my King." Kai nodded and a gleam of hope passed over his eyes. "Please help me find a place for him."
"I'll agree to it, only if you do as I say."
Kai bowed his head and kneeled in front of them. "I'll follow your every command. Please save this child."
"Jackson, bring the child to me."
"Yes, my King." His advisor had a sour, disappointed look, but he didn't question Namjoon.
Jackson picked up the baby and the velvet black cloth wrapped around it's feeble body. It's royal blood and Winter Fae heritage kept the child from experience the humid and heat of the forest. Any other low-born Winter Fae would have suffered burns without the right cocktail of spell-work in their blood.
"He hasn't been fed in quite sometime." Jackson said as he reached Namjoon's side.
"You found that by picking up the baby?" Namjoon stared at him, mildly surprised. Since when was Jackson a professional in baby-sitting? Was this another one of those thousand things Jackson had mastered but had kept Namjoon in the dark about?
"Yes. His body weight is less then average, and his heart beat is irregular. He needs to be fed, and fed soon -" Jackson stopped speaking and stared at the darkness to their left.
"They're closing in, my King. We need to move."
"We need to move now." Jackson said and moved away from the duo, baby in hand.
"Kai-" the guard was still kneeling in front of them. "Get up."
"We're leaving."
"The child -"
"The child will be safe." Jackson said before handing the baby to Namjoon.
"We don't have time to waste. Follow behind us."
*