Chapter Text
Every kid has their dreams, and believe me when I say that a dream is like a lifeline to them. But what happens when someone takes that away? You probably don’t even want to know. In this world, it is said that in order to live happily, one must have a dream. From a young age, children are expected to know exactly what their dream is. Not having one is like a crime. An illness. Treated like something to be fixed by the harsh hand of the village elder. That form of therapy is nothing but destructive to the young mind. Those who survive it are left hopeless and isolated, forever changed. Marked.
But that's not the end of this story. In this world, legends are told, stories of the past whispered by the Earth, of people who lost their dreams and lived. For they are called The Dreamless, for the Earth doesn't forget.
Every day in Yoongi’s life is amazing and he definitely can’t get enough of it.
One day he’s able to go with his father into the forest. It doesn't matter that he is the king, everyone loves him and respects his legacy. They always have fun watching wild animals that are running away from them, but one-day Yoongi realizes he doesn’t want that. He wants them to be his friends, to play with him, to have proper fun together. Yoongi, as always, decides to tell that to his father.
“Dad, why are all these animals running away from us? I don’t want to hurt them.”
“They’re just scared because I used to hunt some of them. You don’t want them to run away, my little prince?”
“I want them to be friends with me and… And I want them to play with me. Can you make them my friends?”
Everyone who sees those pretty round eyes is automatically charmed, especially his parents. They only wish for Yoongi to have everything they didn’t have. A peaceful family. People who will love him and accept his every decision. After some time, animals start joining Yoongi whenever he is outside and he loves it. He loves them too一 they’re always willing to play with him or help him with anything. Does that count as friends? Did his wish come really true? Yoongi sometimes thinks he can hear their voices but he blames that on his imagination. It can’t really be true, right? It definitely can’t be.
Another day he is with his mother at the lake. This place looks really magical. When the sun is in the sky, the lake is shining with its pretty crystal shine. When clouds hide the sun and the weather becomes moody, the lake looks bored and alone. Yoongi’s mother once told him that that’s the way the lake misses the sun and shows him that they need each other. Close to the lake, there is a big colony of fairies who are really close to the king that some people even think that they serve him. Yoongi discovered this himself by accident. It was a pretty day but he wasn’t alone, his mother was with him.
“Mom, do you hear that strange noise?” Yoongi didn’t know that fairies really existed but he had heard so many stories where they’re magical heroes.
“Oh, yes I do but that isn’t noise. Those are fairies. They recently came here to live. Their ruler and your father agreed to something.”
“What exactly is it? I can hear it now. I’m not a baby anymore. Please tell me.” As always Yoongi wins in getting what he wants but sometimes he wishes that his parents would say no… At least once.
“Fairies are rare creatures, son. People like to use them for their own good and takes a lot of their energy. They need to be free to be powerful. Your father promised to keep them safe but I hope big kingdoms don’t start something with us because of it. We aren’t exactly good when it comes to fights. You know that, right?” Trying to give some safety to her son, the queen put her hand on her son’s forehead. When he looked up at her, something broke inside of her. At that exact moment, she decided that Yoongi should befriend fairies. For her, that was the only way of protecting him.
“Yes, I know. I want to meet them, let’s go!”
By the time Yoongi earned the respect of all fairies, he charmed them with his approach to things and people. In Yoongi’s eyes, fairies were legendary humans, not creatures or monsters or deviants. Soon half of them would do anything he asks them to, even if their life is on the line.
Yoongi sometimes thought that’s ridiculous because what can a fairy do when they’re hiding from people? They’re tiny and no one is actually scared of them so what’s the point? Every time Yoongi gets extra time outside, he goes to play with them and have fun.
“Why are you so happy today, Yoongi?” One of the youngest fairies would always ask Yoongi, whenever he came and she was there. And every time Yoongi’s answer was similar.
“I’m so honored to be close to everyone here. You’re so magical and pretty but still have that ordinary shine that makes you all look even more beautiful.”
“Why are you always this cute? That should be illegal. Now I feel so happy for no reason!”
“You’re really our little sunshine, Yoongi. Thank you for coming.”
Random chatting between everyone would continue until someone called Yoongi to come back to the palace. It was always new and fresh. Yoongi learned a lot from them and everything he heard he collected in his memories.
All of his actions were unexpected from the next crown prince.
Everyone knows happiness doesn’t last forever and no one expected this one to end this soon.
Yoongi was having fun with his best friends that day. They were together in the room with the instruments: Yoongi’s favourite room. Everyone knew to play at least one instrument. Yoongi knew how to play the piano and he was convinced that the piano was his first and last love. Hoseok was skilled in playing the drums. Their skills on these instruments were incredible but they weren’t the only ones. Namjoon did a great job with playing trumpet, and Jimin was an amazing harp player. Taehyung and his violin; that was a story for itself. It was impossible to not see chemistry between them and their favourite instruments. They promised each other that they would play in harmony forever, especially when they needed each other. Yoongi didn’t know that one day his friends would grow up and be obliged to treat him as a king. That day was far in the future, right? He didn’t need to worry about that right now. He is only eleven.
Who could’ve expected that one day his father won’t come back with his people when they just went to circle their land? Yoongi was so confused. He didn’t understand what that meant so he just went to visit the fairies. Maybe they can explain it with their cute little voices. They just told him that his father was killed for good and that they wished they could help somehow. Warriors from the other kingdom killed him. No one was able to save him. The Fairies also told Yoongi to go home and rest because soon his whole world would turn upside down. Everything that happens next is just chaos mixed with little gained happiness.
Yoongi had to start thinking and acting as a prince which took away his friends. Even the animals didn’t have the courage to come close to such a cold person. He changed a lot and it was evident. The only person that he still had was his mother, but the war started soon after and she had to leave and lead their people as a queen. It was a strange decision but everyone thought it was a good idea. Everyone thought everything would be okay. Everyone just wanted to keep fairies safe.
From Yoongi’s point of view, he was losing everything: his family, his friends, his happiness, and at last his dreams. He didn’t hope for good, he realized that no one's life will stay nice forever, and promised to himself to never get fooled again. He hoped one day he would be like the old him. He hoped that maybe, just maybe he will be able to find someone who will see through his mask and help him, save him. All these thoughts and he was just a kid. You would expect him to have a goal, a dream? No, he just had hope一 hope that kept him going on.
His mother didn’t leave him alone afterward. One of the most powerful fairies got a job to help Yoongi grow up to be an amazing king. She was supposed to take care of him, teach him all the important practices about the kingdom, of ruling, and love. It was easy at the beginning but as time passed, everything changed. Also, let’s remember that not every powerful person has good intentions on their mind.
Soon enough the whole kingdom was forgotten and no one ever came back to it. It stayed cold forever and surrounded with invisible magic.
➽
Sun is shining. The day is perfect. I wish my days were always like this, peaceful. I love laying under the sun and watching clouds find their way in the sky, that unpredictable masterpiece.
Living with six sisters and five brothers isn’t so easy, especially when we had to move from our big house to this little cottage and also losing all our maids didn’t help. Me, as the youngest son, I have to take care of everything. I can’t believe I got away from everything today. I have to say thanks to Seokjin-hyung, if he didn’t decide to cover me I wouldn’t be here enjoying. Although, if I am being honest with myself, he is the only sibling that wants me safe and rested. My sisters, Aeri, Choonhee, Jeong, Whan, Min and Kwan, aren’t mean to me so much but my brothers are a different story. Chinhwa, Hwan, Joonsu, Minjun and Yongsaeng were mean since the first day I remember. I really don’t know why. It might be because we lost our mother because I was born. Destiny has her own plan for everyone in this world. I wish I knew mine. I think it could be easier to live then.
The reason why we had to move and give up everything was because our father lost everything in a big storm. All ships never came back and he had to pay for lost things. It was hard to stabilize everything but we made it and now I’m here, enjoying the most beautiful moment in my life. Sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s just my life.
I love nature and animals and I think they love me. I promised them that I would always love them and never do anything bad that could harm them. After that, they always join me when they see me. I’m glad I have friends, even if they’re not human ones. Ok, especially humans, some are really disgusting. On one of the recent days, Seokjin told me I will definitely find my significant other sooner than I think and I think that’s beautiful but also scary. What if I do something wrong and they start to hate me? I really can do stupid things sometimes if we’re being honest. Wait why am I even thinking about that? Let’s think positive today.
It's a precious day, why would I ruin it with my annoying thoughts?
Should I come back home or enjoy a little bit more? Or should I go to the town and try to earn some money? Talk with people? Try to find some new books or take my favourite one?
No to everything, I will stay like this a little bit more. I just hope no one makes a problem back in the house because I’m missing. If they do then I really don’t know what to say. They’re always absent, why do they care if I leave for a few hours?
The sky is really light blue. I wonder what makes it this special? I try to find some objects in the sky, but the clouds really aren’t making any. That’s kind of sad because that’s my favourite thing to do. Everyone has their place in this universe, even this sky, the clouds, or that little particle of dust that’s falling on my nose. I sometimes wonder where is mine.
----------
When I got back home, no one was there and the sun left the sky long ago. I don’t know how but I fell asleep watching the sky. Now I’m fully rested and that’s amazing. I found a little letter on the table from Seokjin-hyung. They went to some kind of party because father isn’t home. Oh, if he comes back I will be black sheep. I’ll just pretend I’m not here. He was serious when he said no parties, so what’s wrong with my siblings? At least they did all the chores. I can rest today, completely.
Where did I put my favourite book? I want to re-read it again and act surprised when prince charming shows up. Oh! There it is. Off to my hidden reading place which is actually just a wardrobe everyone forgot about. While I was on my way to the wardrobe, someone opened the door, and I froze.
“Jungkook, what are you doing? Why isn't dinner on the table?” And that’s my father with his shoulder-length grey hair collected in a low bun.
His clothes these days aren’t as shiny and pretty as they used to be. Even his skin lost that glow, so all I can see now is an old man that looks and acts like my dear father. He looks really tired and all I can see in his eyes right now is sadness. I wonder what happened.
“No one is here and I’m not very hungry to make it for myself. We probably have some fruit from this morning. Do you want to eat anything?”
“Oh, no. I thought you should eat, you weren’t home the whole day and they went to the party. What were you doing?”
“Wait, wait. Am I missing something here? I was just relaxing on the field and accidentally fell asleep.”
“My son, you definitely are missing stuff. I told them to go to a party. There is a possibility for me to get everything back and I’m on my way there. I just wanted to see if you came back and to tell you something. Do you maybe want something, everyone asked for some rare things they didn’t see these few years?
“No, I don’t need anything. You should just come home unharmed and well.”
“Are you sure? Nothing? Tell me anything you want.” Why is he so persistent. I really don’t want anything, maybe books? But I already have them a lot in the village library. Wait there actually is something!
“I have an idea. Just bring me a red rose, nothing else!” I happily say, clearly knowing that he won’t be able to find them. This year nature hid all red roses from us.
“We have a deal! You know, son, I sometimes wonder why you don’t find someone and leave this house, doesn’t matter who. This family never gave you what you needed the most. Maybe someone in the village? Anyone you know?”
“Let’s just not talk about that. I’m not ready for that kind of stuff. It’s too much pressure. This is fine, not calm and too nice but perfect. Thank you for worrying though!”
“If you say so. But just so you know, everyone is the heels over you even if they think you’re too crazy for reading all those books. If you at least tried a little, they would come at any second, whoever you want.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m really fine. Wait, you're leaving already?”
“Yes, see you in a few days kid, take care and don’t make anyone go crazy in the meantime.”
“I won’t. See you and good luck!” We hug for goodbye. This hasn’t happened in a while.
Sometimes I wonder what made people realize that I’m not straight and to be okay with it. I expected it to explode in my face but nothing happened and that’s nice. Things like that rarely happen. It was hard to find myself too without any experience but honestly, I didn’t want it. All I want is some adventure and actually do something important in this world. Maybe one day I save one life when I decide to leave everything behind.
Anyway, what I was doing before my father came? Book, reading, yes! Let’s start this before anyone comes.
➽
“Dear Majesty, why do you keep doing this? What’s the point of listening to that fairy? She is no one to you.”
“Namjoon can you please stop calling me like that?” I thought we were friends? Why is everyone so far away recently?
“Sir, I don’t think I can do that. Laws are the laws and rules are the rules.”
“Sure, sure… And you’re wrong, my mother left me to her and I have to listen to her.” It’s just Airy and me. Everyone else just left.
“All those attacks stopped when your mother disappeared, prince. I’m worried about you.”
“You’re wrong, fairies aren’t like that! You’re dismissed!”
➽
Another beautiful day. This is amazing. My father still hasn’t come back from his trip and seven days have passed. I’m not very worried because I know that he will find his way home no matter what. Maybe he is trying to find everything my sibling wanted. They really asked for rare things.
It's the perfect time for running around the village with a book in my hands. Wait a second, what is everyone whispering about? They definitely won’t tell me if I ask. Let me try and hear something from these old women. I sit as close as I can and pretend I’m reading a book with all my attention on imagination.
“Oh, this beauty, if only he was thinking about his future.” One of them started.
“Both, my girl and boy like him a lot. He is unstoppable when it comes to this.”
“Imagine if his siblings were like this!”
“Maybe it’s true he took his mother’s life like his brothers are saying. He looks gorgeous exactly like she did-”
I get up and start leaving. Are they always saying this, even when I think it’s something positive? I can’t believe I thought my books are places full of this. Nevermind, that’s not so important. I should walk faster. They probably need him back in the cottage.
As I was coming closer to it I could see something was actually happening. There was my father's old carriage but it was in really bad shape. Kwan was taking care of our horse as always. First, I thought I should ask her what happened but I decided against it and went into the house.
My father was laying on his bed and was explaining something to everyone. Well time to join them.
“What happened?”
“Nothing that important son. There is a rose for you on the table.” Wow, that’s actually a real rose!
“Where did you get it? This is impossible!”
“ You don’t have to know about that. Go out and take a break!”
“So, you really won’t tell him anything about what happened??” Joonsu starts to protest looking back and forth at dad and me. What’s this about?
“I asked you to do it, not him!”- he starts coughing. What is happening here? Well, I’ll just ask. It probably has to do something with me because these looks are meant for me.
“Dad, please tell me what happened.” He looks so defeated now when I say it too. He probably expected me to leave as he told me to.
“We didn’t get anything back, not money nor our home. We’re just losing more every hour. People told me that before I even got there but I didn’t believe them. It’s true, we really lost everything.” He wants to say something more but it’s actually true. That’s really sad and means double work for me. Ha! I would literally do anything to bring our gold back.
“I met one, you could say gentleman, he offered me a lot and everything we need to get back our business and home. He asked just for one thing.”
“What he asked for, dad?”
“He somehow knew I have 12 children back at home and asked for one of you to join him in his castle.”
“So, why is no one accepting this? I think my sisters would really like that. Huh?!” I look at them and then my father. Why is everyone so cryptic?
“I would gladly accept it because at least one of you would have that royal life you deserve but he isn’t a human. He is a monster, a beast, an ugly creature. These scars I have are because of him and he said he will come and I won’t have anything left. So let's just run away from here and never come back.”
“Do you really think he will leave us alone? From what you first said, he is definitely capable of catching us. Why don't we give someone to him and live peacefully as before?” Aeri starts talking and it looks like she really wants to do something for her family but no. All I see in my sister’s eyes is evil greed. She is really willing to send herself to nowhere just to be in the palace. That’s bad. Why are my brothers still looking at me? Why do I feel like they expect me to disappear so they can finally say they won?
“NO, I’M SERIOUS WHEN I SAY THAT HE IS A BEAST!!”
“So, what about Jungkook? He can definitely run away if needed.” Joonsu added again. Oh, I actually can see why he is saying this.
“Are you insane?! Why would I give any of you to a monster?!”
Let’s pause this a little while they’re arguing. What do I get from this? No more siblings that want you gone. That sounds good. I also think that my father is overreacting. Why would this person try to help us if they’re monster? Joonsu is right, I can always run away and never come back here. Sounds good as I first thought but I’m also saving everyone’s life. Yeah, I will probably miss them but I can survive that.
“I will go, just tell me how to get there. I really mean it, don't look at me like that. I will be fine.”
“He just said the rose will lead you. You really will do it?” I feel like I am breaking an old heart that was broken numerous times before.
“Yes, it’s for the best so don’t worry too much. Okay?” Let’s hope this really goes well or I will be lying to both of us.
“I won’t worry too much, just be careful.”
“We have a deal but also please take care of our father when I’m gone.” I give the look to everyone but especially Seokjin. He is the only one I trust.
I just picked up the rose from the table and that’s all. I probably won’t need anything else. The moment I touched this rose I felt something strange and now when I’m outside I look at it. It’s a pretty, dark red. I love flowers and roses are my favourite. They were my mum’s favourite too. This one doesn’t have thorns, that’s strange. It feels magical too but the smell told me it definitely is. While it was traveling through my senses I felt unfamiliar pictures occupying my brain and I knew exactly where I had to go.
➽
“Did you really do all this so you could be queen to people who wanted you to be their slave?”
“Yes, and I would do everything again and again.”
“You killed my parents because of this?! The war didn’t even exist. I can’t believe how you made a fool of everyone. Just letting you know, I will never marry you!”
“Then you won’t be the king. My fairies will leave this place and everyone here will be cursed because of you. You will live as a beast and others will be the artifacts. This rose will be your clock. When the last petal falls down, if you don’t find a person with whom you will share mutual love you will stay forever like this. Oh, here you go, mirror, so you could see what you are missing. Everyone will forget about you and no one will care about this castle hidden with my magic.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you were telling me she is bad.”
➽
My body is moving but I am not doing anything. I never was on this path in the forest and it’s starting to snow out of nowhere. Cold air is slowly taking me for its prisoner. If there isn’t any hot place where I am headed to, I will become a snowman. At once the path is cleared from trees and I can see this fort. It is enormous and the scenery around一 it’s unbelievable how it looks perfect regardless of this cold snow. This is the moment my body becomes mine so I decide to look around a bit. I will be here so why don't I see what’s up with these gardens. Oh, wait I can see flowers. How is this possible? What is taking care of this? The monster? A beast? You must be kidding me! There are different colours of roses and every next one is prettier than the one before. I’m glad I came here. I just hope it doesn’t turn bad.