Chapter Text
Running.
That's all he remembers. Running through the dark, pitch black forest without a purpose or a destination. Just running aimlessly trying to escape. He doesn't know for how long, since when or from what. But he's always just running away.
In the distance he hears the cries of a woman. She seems to be weeping but he doesn't stop.
He's trying to get away from the dangers lurking in the shadows, from the thing that's chasing him but he cant figure out what it is.
He's exhausted. He won't be able to run anymore. His lungs are burning from exhaustion and he's fighting to stay conscious... but soon his legs give out and he collapses.
His pursuer has caught up to him and gave a triumphant howl. He won't be able to stop it anymore. It's going to, going t-
"WAKE THE FUCK UP JEON JUNGKOOK!!!"
Jungkook jolted awake and felt the wet, soft grass against his skin.
Where-?
"You are going to be in so much trouble if handler Choi finds you here under the oak tree again, she already loathes you enough for God's sake. You want to cause more problems by disobeying her?"
Jungkook blinked, amused at his friend’s nagging and concern. He sat up from where he was laying on the grass, mind still groggy from sleep and tried to assess his current situation. He then snorted and said, "I wasn't given direct orders which specifically stated to not nap under the big old oak tree where no one but me bothers to go... And as for handler Choi..."
Jungkook pretends to think for a moment then just shrugs, "Well that won't be anything new now would it?"
"Oh my god! You absolute masochist! Do you have a death wish or something? You really like to test the handler's patience that much?"
"I'm not a masochist, Yug, that's your kink. Don't drag me into that. And as for that woman, she never comes to this place or deliberately seek me out so I think I'm safe for now.", Jungkook said with a wink.
"You are a menace!"
"Thank you!"
"Wasn't a compliment", mumbled Yugyeom.
Jungkook just grinned and rose to his feet pulling Yugyeom up with him.
"Come on", he said with a grin, "Wouldn't want to get in trouble with handler Choi again for sneaking out late now, would we?"
Yugyeom snorted, "Oh really! And whose fault that would be I wonder... I'm just gonna say I was kidnapped by the school's delinquent and forced to guard him as he sleeps."
"I can't believe it! Ten years of friendship and this is what you do to me now! The betrayal!! But that story isn't believable either way. "
"Shut up! If any of the handler catches us, they'll kill us and I'll do more that just betray you"
"Hmm... you'll find that there's nothing much that a dead man can do..."
"Shhhh!!"
The rest of the walk to the dorm was uneventful. Fortunately they didn't encounter anyone and Jungkook found his mind drifting towards the nightmare he had before Yugyeom woke him. Fiddling with the skull ring on his index finger, he thought about what that he saw.
It was nothing out of ordinary. He was accustomed to having them frequently but they never failed to unnerve him. Although after all these years of experience he was used to having these nightmares and rarely bothered with them unless absolutely necessary.
But lately they were more frequent and recurring. Usually, he would move them to the back of his mind but he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He might have to talk with his brother soon. The unresolved tension between them needed to be cleared up but both of them were stubborn so it proved to be a bit difficult. The last time they spoke, their little spat turned into something more and while his brother started it, Jungkook couldn’t say he was completely innocent.
Lost in thoughts, Jungkook didn't notice when they reached the dorm room which was just a small room where he and Yugyeom stayed at the Academia. He would have almost crashed into the door opened by Yugyeom if he hadn't had good reflexes.
"Get out of that big ugly head of yours and try to focus on the present for once!", Yugyeom said.
Jungkook pouted, "I am much offended that you find my pretty little head ugly."
"Good, didn't want to inflate your already enormous ego." With that he flopped onto his bed head first.
"Atleast change out of your uniform first, you'll soil the bed", Jungkook snickered.
"You don't get to talk!", came the reply.
Jungkook huffed and went the shared bathroom to brush his teeth. Changing out of his clothes, he made himself comfy on the bed and opened a book he found in the library. He started flipping through the pages lazily. It was one of those few rare ones that caught his eye about the 18th realm of-
CRASH
Startled, Jungkook looked at his side, from where the sound came from . The crash had apparently come from the mannequin sent by Yug's grandmother as a gift. Yugyeom, in his haste to reach the study table had knocked it down to the floor where it lay in a pitiful state.
"What- ...Are you studying?!"
Yugyeom, without looking at Jungkook said, "Shut up! I've got more important things to do rather than listening to your stupid blabbering!"
"Rude... but Yug, seriously! All these years I've known you, I have never seen you study before but still get insanely good grades... Why are you studying now?!"
"Jungkook, we have exams coming up! If you know any better, you should study too and not waste your time fooling around."
Jungkook cocked his head in confusion, "we have tests and exams going on all the time in Academia, what's so special about this one that has got you studying??"
Yugyeom sighed, his eyes finally leaving the book he was reading, "haven't you heard?? About the rumor?? I thought you would be the first one to know since you are so infatuated with them."
Jungkook had a faint idea about what was being referring to but couldn't fathom why.
Looking at his confused face, Yugyeom let out another sigh, "Bangtan, Kook. They are going to come to Academia for inspection next month and most probably to select new Theras. But this time there are rumours running around that the Threas will be selected from the junior divisions."
Hearing that Jungkook sat up so fast, he almost fell off the bed.
'WHAT??!!", Jungkook gasped, disbelief clear in his voice.
Yugyeom scoffed, "Now I understand why you haven't talked my ear off till now... you didn't even know about it!"
"OH MY GOD!! IS IT TRUE??! BUT WE AREN’T EVEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR YET!!"
"Shhh!! Don't yell! You wanna wake up the whole academy??"
"OH MY GOD!! I'M HAVING A CRISIS HERE!! GEOMIE!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING BEFORE!!?" , Jungkook whisper-shouted.
"I thought you already knew, silly!!! You're the first one to know everything related to them! How come you didn't know about this??."
Jungkook stopped having a mental breakdown for a second to ponder over the question with a faraway look in his eyes, "Why indeed... Seems like a valid question, I think I need to have a chat with someone soon."
He then resumed his breakdown, "Yug, I'll never forgive you for keeping this a secret from me ...and why on earth are you studying??? You are not even a Thera!! You are a Voil!"
"Kook! They'll be inspecting each and every one of us. Even if I'm not a Thera, I want to make a good impression on them. It'll benefit my career in the future!"
"They won't inspect each and every junior! They won't be wasting their precious time when they can do much better things than that. Just the Theras but that's given. And maybe the extremely capable ones will be interviewed."
"Exactly!...But it's just a rumour, we don't even know if it's true", Yugyeom resumed his reading.
Jungkook groaned, he was so stressed that he could have a heart attack. Rumour or not, he had a hunch about it being true and from past experiences, he had learned to never ignore his hunches. He seriously needed to have a word with his brother fast.
Jungkook groaned, "ugh! I'm going to die!!!!"
"Don't be dramatic!! And please let me study."
But Jungkook wasn’t being dramatic, his hand itched to play his violin.
Junghyun sat on top of the hill with his legs sprawled out, waiting for his brother to arrive. He couldn’t say he was surprised when Jungkook asked to meet up in the middle of the night... But he was surprised Jungkook didn’t just barge into the palace to speak with him if it was that important. Most probably because he couldn’t risk giving himself away.
Junghyun sighed, thinking about the excuses he was going to give his brother for not keeping him up to date. Surely, Jungkook would have known by now that something was up. This isn’t the first time Junghyun took decisions for his brother's sake without informing him but the atmosphere between them was tense and the last time they met, their little spat had escalated into a petty fight as a result of months of pent up frustration.
That's why they hadn't spoken in a month, the longest time they went brooding over a petty disagreement. Most people would deem them childish but it was necessary for them to spend some time apart to grow closer and the smaller the fight, the better. They couldn’t afford anything else.
Since they didn't have any immediate pressing matters to attend to, they could continue with this childish behaviour... but they needed to clear up the air between them soon or it would weight them down.
Lost in thoughts, Junghyun didn't notice when someone sneaked up behind him. Usually, he would have, but he barely had time to react before a sword was swung at him from behind.
Junghyun had never been more grateful of his fast reflexes and years of training. In the blink of an eye, Junghyun brought out his own concealed sword to block the attack after which he gave a blow of his own. But the attacker seemed to anticipate it and easily intercepted it.
In the split second pause, Junghyun had time to glance at the person's face but was shocked with what he saw. He recognized his attacker and his shoulders relaxed slightly without losing his stance.
"Jungkook what-"
But he didn't get to finish his question before Jungkook landed another hit, this time closer to his face. Junghyun blocked but Jungkook wasn't showing signs of stopping anytime soon. His attacks were getting stronger and Junghyun could only hope Jungkook wasn’t using his own weapon, for surely, he wouldn't want to hurt his own brother now... would he?
"Jungkook!!", Junghyun shouted after their swords collided again.
"Peaches are peace offerings to the Drakanian royal family, it needs to be on the list! Even if the Xander family gets offended by it. There needs to be compromises!", said Jungkook landing another hit.
"Xanders are our allies. We cannot do that to them! It will give a bad impression on other and we will be the ones suffering in the end!", Junghyun said retaliating.
"The other allies don't matter if we have the support of the Drakanians, they are stronger than the others!"
"Don't be stupid, that's not true!! Every alliance is important, we worked hard for each and every one of them! Don’t forget that. And what if we don’t win the support of the Drakanians? That'll be an irresponsible thing to do! Besides their warriors won't be really relying on fruits to help them win battles now would they?", Junghyun tried to reason but Jungkook wouldn't listen.
Fed up, Junghyun let go of his sword which dropped to the ground and held up his hands. "Wait! How about we make a special list and ask them to serve peaches only to the Drakanians and not the others? That way we can keep everyone happy!"
Jungkook hesitated, "You know royal feasts don't work that way! We would be frowned upon for neglecting our tradition and we can't just-"
"We'll make a buffet! We'll tell them we are trying out different things to expand our culture... But I doubt we'll be questioned for that when there'll be more pressing matters to attend to."
Jungkook thought about it for a while, then said, "That's... not a bad idea..."
"See! I told you we would find out a solution, didn't I?"
Jungkook sighed, "You never said that but I guess we do... Can't believe we've been fighting over this for a month!"
Junghyun grinned but his smile slipped from his face when he heard Jungkook’s next words.
"Let's talk about Bangtan now, shall we?", Jungkook smiled menacingly.
Junghyun gulped, knowing he was in deep shit.