Why is it that sometimes, when we are angry, tears tend to form in our eyes?

Why is it that when anger burns inside us, tears blur our sight and make us seem weak?

These were the questions that kept repeating in Aera's mind as using the sleeve of her dress, she wiped away her tears which were like a representation of the frustration combined with the feeling of despair she felt.

She fought with one and then another ghoul or evil that came in her way, trying her best to help and protect as many people as she could.

Her heart raced while anger continued to persist in her as her sword was drawn through countless evil beings and protected the ones in danger. 

This anger, she knew, that if not controlled would take over her. This anger, that burned in her, would take over the person she truly was.

It was an emotion that if not controlled, would cause her to act unreasonably.

And so, she stopped, keeping her sword down on the ground as she took a deep breath. Water droplets fell on her face while a cold wind blew, making her shiver and reminding her of how stupid it was to run away all alone.

Her legs ached while her eyes hurt. The blowing wind being accompanied by sand and dust as the storm raged in fury.

She rubbed her hands against her arms in order to warm herself to a slight extent as she took another deep breath and exhaled, feeling much better than before.

"I need to get back to the castle." She thought as she picked up her sword. "Taehyung was right, I really don't know the dangers this place has. He was only worried about my safety. I should not have let anger take the better of me and run away like that."

Looking at the path she came from, Aera looked down at the ground to trace her footsteps that had formed in the mud while she had been running.

"The Prince and Jungkook must be looking for me. I should not create trouble for them." She muttered under her breath as she was about to go when a sudden loud shriek reached her ears.

Aera's eyes widened as she looked around, trying to locate the place from where the sound may have been coming. A second shriek followed by a wail which echoed, breaking the fragile silence like glass.

"Hello?" Aera called out as chills ran down her spine. Her voice came back to her as an echo as Aera looked around, squinting to see better from the haze and fog that lay suspended in the air.

Once again, a loud noise came as Aera jumped in shock.

It was now that she was able to locate the direction from which the noises were coming. "It's coming from..." And at this thought, her eyes widened once again as she remembered a particular day when the Prince had informed her about a forbidden and dangerous place.

"Prince, where does that run down path lead to?"

"It leads to the Land Of Dead, Aera."

A chuckle escaped Aera's lips as she heard his response. "Land of Dead? That sounds like a graveyard to me. Why give such a fancy name to a graveyard?"

"It is, a graveyard." The Prince replied as he now seemed lost in some world. "But not just the one where dead bodies are simply buried but rather, that place is named so, because whoever goes there is first killed and then buried. 

The Prince stayed silent as Aera came closer to him, her interests suddenly perked up. 

"It is believed that dark spirits live there. It is situated near a high cliff and if anyone goes near that place, the spirits capture that person and then slowly eat their soul bit by bit, causing the person to die in an extremely painful manner."

"Whoa, creepy." Aera exclaimed as she shuddered. "So, are those spirits some kind of...death eaters?"

"Yes, you can say that." The Prince said as he finally looked at Aera who sat on a bench, munching on a carrot and sitting quite close to him. "But Aera, I am warning you, never ever set foot on that place."

"...the Land Of Death." Aera mumbled as her grip on her sword tightened while her breath became heavy by each passing moment. "Whoever is in there is probably going through a lot of pain but my presence wont help either. It would just be me inviting danger for myself."

And so, with a heavy heart, she was about to walk away when suddenly, a huge amount of pain hit her head.

A scream escaped Aera's lips as she held her head between her hands and fell to her knees. 

"What's going on?" She thought in alarm as it felt like some parasite had entered her head and was eating it away. Second by second, the pain worsened as Aera tried to fight it off but to no avail.

She finally gave away and let in whatever was trying to enter. 

Her eyes clouded while the sense of her surrounding left as she let go of her sword and got up, starting to walk on the run down path which lead to the Land Of Death.

Behind the bushes, with a bow and arrow hung around his chest, stood a boy as he watched all this with utter confusion. "Where is Aera going?" He thought to himself as he watched the girl walk away and disappear from sight.

Though the ferocity of the storm had lessened, a thick mist hung like a heavy curtain as Taehyung and Jungkook traced Aera's footsteps and ran towards the direction she had headed for.

"Where is she!?" Jungkook asked in worry as Taehyung shook his head in despair. He felt terrible on knowing that the reason of why she had ran away and possible gotten into some trouble was him.

The two kept running. Though their hopes were starting to falter, they didn't give up and kept searching for Aera.

"Aera...where are you?" The Prince thought as a huge amount of misery and regret filled inside him. "Please, be safe."

They soon approached a land which was scarcely inhabited and in which no signs of life prevailed.

"Prince," Jungkook called out. "I think Aera may have decided to go back. Afterall, she does know that being unreasonable and acting blindly would lead her into danger."

Taehyung sighed as he slowly nodded. He was about to suggest a different place where they could go in search for her when his eyes settled on some metal object which lay on the ground, its shining light standing out from the mist.

With furrowed eyebrows, he walked towards the object as he picked it up and examined it. "It's a sword." He mumbled as he touched it blood stained tip and turned it around to see if its pommel had a mark which could indicate and tell where it was made and to whom it belonged.

His eyes widened on seeing the mark and realization fell on him like a heavy boulder as Jungkook, on seeing his friends reaction, asked in worry, "Taehyung, what's wrong?"

Prince Taehyung stood silent as words would just not leave his lips.

"Jungkook..." Taehyung finally was able to mutter as his eyes stayed glued to the symbol drawn on the sword. "This sword has the mark of a crown symbol which is used to indicate that it belongs to someone either close or from the royal family."

"So? Maybe someone was fighting and lost it. How does this help us in finding Aera?"

Taehyung sighed as he finally tore his eyes from the symbol to his friend. "No person in Azmaar other than the King, Queen and me posses swords with the crown symbol. But that's not it, I had lent a similar sword to Aera while we were practicing sword fighting and she kept it with her. So if this sword is here then..."

"Aera, was also here." Jungkook completed as a heavy silence fell between the two friends. 

"What now?" They both thought in confusion, trying to make sense of where Aera may have went or what might have happened to her.

The silence which prevailed, stayed like a looming shadow, making its presence felt as the Prince slowly started to loose hope when the sound of footsteps nearby caught his attention.

"Whose there?" He shouted, his sword pointing at the direction from where the noise had come. "Who are you?"

"Prince!" Jungkook whispered harshly as he held his friends hand and pressed it. "Shh! Listen."

The noise of the footsteps grew, indicating that the person was coming closer by each second. Finally, when the figure of the person who seemed to be a man came in sight, the person stopped. Not walking any closer or farther, just still.

"Are you two searching for Aera?" The person asked as a dreaded feeling passed by Taehyung's heart. 

"How do you know her?" 

The person, whose face was not visible but just an outline of his figure, stayed silent, as if thinking of what to say. "How I know Aera is not what matters now but what does matter is that she is getting closer to danger by each passing second while I and you stand and talk."

"What do you mean? Where is she?" Taehyung asked, his voicing raising by each word as worry of Aera's safety took over him.

"I saw her...she was standing right where you stand right now, Prince."

The mysterious figure let silence increase the impact of his words. 

"I asked you something, where is Aera?" Taehyung asked as the man replied, "Somewhere near, but going far."

Jungkook who was standing beside Taehyung shifted away uncomfortably.

It was quite visible to him that the Prince was starting to run out of patience and if this stranger continued to delay them then anger would soon cause the Prince to act out of haste.

And this was exactly what was going on as Taehyung clenched his jaw and tried to take deep breaths reminding himself that this man was the only hope of him finding Aera. "I understand, but please, we are running out of time so tell us, where did she go?"

The figure came closer, causing the Prince to back away at receiving this sudden movement. Questions ran through his mind as he imagined what this person could look like.

All that came to his mind was the picture of some lost and dreamy looking boy who probably did not know who and where he even was.

Oh, but how wrong this depiction was because finally, when the mist started clearing out and the boys face came into view, the first thing both the friends saw were his bright twinkling eyes.

And behind those eyes stood a young boy, with a bow and arrow hanging by his chest. His look gave one the impression that he was a wise, determined and strong person.

"She went there." The boy said as he raised his hand to point in the direction behind Jungkook. "She is headed to the Land Of Death."

His words came crashing down, echoing in the eerie silence that followed next. 

"Prince Taehyung, she needs you, she needs your help. I think that she has been temporarily hypnotized but I am not sure. Time is ticking and each minute is precious, determining the fate of her life. Please, go save her."

As if it were a fire ignited, lighting the darkness that surrounded, the Prince gave a determined nod as he looked at Jungkook and then back at the boy. 

"Thank you." The Prince said as he was about to head down the path when he stopped and looked back at the boy. "I know it's not the right time to exchange greetings and know each other, but tell me, who are you?"

A smile cracked on the boys face as his eyes softened, forming crescents. "You perhaps have never heard of me Prince, but nevertheless, the name is Jimin." And with that, he muttered an "Adios!" and ran in the opposite direction.

"Well, that sums it all. We now know where Aera is, but Prince, we better hurry!"

Taehyung turned to Jungkook as he heaved a sigh. "Common, let's go." And off they headed to the Land Of Death, knowing that this was very dangerous but still, not letting fear take over them as they carefully headed towards the cliff where the mysterious place was situated.

///

Weird howling noises filled the air as Aera kept walking, closer and closer, straight to the place where the Devil's friend stood.

Bodies lay all around the place as one could hear slurping and gnawing noises of someone or something feeding on the soul of a person. The person who now would be dying in the most painful manner one could imagine.

But all this did not effect Aera who in a trance, continued to walk. And as she came closer to the place, the spell on her seemed to wearing off.

Her senses, though hazy, started alerting her that something was seriously wrong. 

Aera tried to break out of the remaining effect of the spell but could not as a heavy binding like feeling stayed in her head, causing her sight to blur.

In the huge patch of land which seemed to hold endless amount of dead souls, rested a ghoul as he sat, waiting for his beautiful guest to arrive.

"Ah, there you are!" He exclaimed in delight as he got up and gave a sinister smile.

Those words marked the ending of the spell, as Aera finally woke out of her trance and gasped. Her eyes rapidly moved, trying to make sense of the situation she was brought into. 

"Where, am I?" She asked as she finally looked at the ghoul who stood infront of her. The ghoul chuckled as he walked closer to Aera, "Where do you think?"

Her heart started beating twice as fast and panic slowly made its way as Aera once again looked around her petrifying surrounding.

"You..." She mumbled as she looked at the ghoul and gulped. "You brought me here."

The ghoul nodded as he gave a smirk, walking even closer to Aera who in exchange put up a brave font and held her chin high so as to not give her abductor the impression that she was scared of him in any manner.

"Well yeah, pretty self explanatory isn't it? It was simple actually, after you ran away from the Prince and distanced yourself, all I had to do was to put a temporary charm on you to pull you here, Aera."

Aera clenched her jaw and tightly closed her eyes, as anger; due to being so reckless and regret; on leaving the Prince built inside her, causing her hands to form into fists.

A harrumph escaped her lips as Aera opened her eyes and jumped on the ghoul, punching him straight in the face. All the anger that had been building up inside her started to release, as she punched the ghoul for a second time and then kicked him.

The ghoul who did receive some injury, still, was quick enough to react and moved away, throwing a green spell on Aera which caused her muscles to stiffen and pain to pass through her.

"What do you want from me!?" She shouted as the ghoul wiped his face, and spit out a black liquid like substance which for these cursed creatures was their blood.

"I don't want to harm you yet! But if you insist then I wouldn't mind increasing your pain which wouldn't be good for you."

These venom like words which were spit out on Aera, caused senses to knock in her as she controlled herself and her anger. "Fine. But take this spell off me!"

The creature snickered as he waved his hand and the green spell wore off, causing Aera to fall to the ground. 

"Tell me, do you want to do this in the easy way or the hard way. It's all up to you."

Aera looked up at the ghoul who looked down at her with his dead black eyes. First a chuckle and then a smirk made its way on Aera's face as the girl got up. "First you answer my question, why did you bring me here?"

The ghoul for a second was taken aback at the determination of the girl who now stood in front of him. According to what he had experienced, people normally in such situations would just give up and plead for mercy, but this reaction was rare. 

"If you choose the easy way then all you are required to do is to follow me and meet the Dark Lord. But if you choose the hard way then you will have to suffer first and then would be taken into the presence of the Dark Lord with utter disrespect."

Aera looked down, the words of the ghoul echoing in her mind. She took a deep breath and looked back at him with a certain amount of courage she never knew existed in her.

"I choose..." Aera said in a low voice as she took a step or two closer to the creature. "The hard way." And with that she jumped on him, punching and kicking him as much as she could.

A scrunching noise was heard as Aera continued to fight, or more like, beat the ghoul as much as she could before he would even have a chance to react.

Perhaps her attack did harm to ghoul and cause pain to inflict in him.

Perhaps, he may even have given up and she would have saved herself had it not been for some sudden whispering noises which caused a dreaded feeling to pass through the girl.

"You are not as smart as I imagined." The ghoul said as he heaved and pushed Aera away.

Twenty shadowy like figures now started circling her as the only words that came in Aera's mind were, "The soul eaters."

The shadows continued to circle around her and by each passing second came closer as Aera quickly got up, trying to think of what to do. "Think Aera, think!"  She thought with urgency. "This cannot be how I end."

But it was. 

Right?

The soul eaters were now just an inch away from reaching out to her when Albrutus, the ghoul who had trapped Aera, pushed her harshly, causing her to be thrown back.

Her back hit the bark of a dead tree as she yelped in pain.

A kick was then aimed at her stomach causing air to be knocked out of her lungs.

A punch followed by another caused her to spit out blood as Aera curled herself into a ball, and tried to squeeze away from the soul eaters and Albrutus.

"I cannot give up." She kept mumbling in pain as tears now rolled down her cheeks and pain burnt in her.

"I tried to warn you dear Guardian but you did not listen. Give up already, its not like your Prince charming is going to save you this time." Albrutus's voice came as a distant whisper as he was about to throw a binding curse on her when a sudden blue light shone.

The light shone to such an extent, that it blinded everyone for a minute.

What followed next was a swirl of wind and crackling of thunder after which a figure came into view.

"Who said that her Prince charming would not save her?" Came a voice, clear as crystal with a mocking tone in it, as the Prince emerged and walked towards the group of soul eaters and Albrutus who surrounded Aera.

His eyes shone bright as ever, while a bright blue flame surrounded him like two wings. The eyes which held infinite power in them landed on Albrutus as they burned with rage and fury.

"How dare you try to hurt someone I love? How could you even think about it?" 

The Prince's voice rang in everyone's ears as the soul eaters slowly started to back away.

It was clear that right now, at this moment, the powers which Taehyung held in him were being used to their full extent. The Prince, with his blue fiery wings, rose in the air as a blue lightning hit the ground, causing all the soul eaters to perish in a fraction of a second.

"It's just you and me now, Albrutus." The Prince said as the ghoul rose his hand and shouted, 

"Epodynos Thanatos!" A red spell flew in the air and towards the Prince as it was just about to hit him, when it broke into fragments and vanished, as if hit by an invisible force which surrounded the Prince.

The Prince smiled as he flew closer to the ghoul, "Is that all you have got? Seriously Albrutus, you magical capabilities disappointment me." 

With a wave of his hand, a bright blue flame formed as looking at the ghoul, the Prince aimed it at him and shouted, "Skotadi Katastrefo."

A blinding light followed by a loud wail exploded in the air, as after the smoke created by the spell went away, black remnants of the once alive creature lay like ash on the ground.

The Prince slowly landed on his feet, as with a flicker of his hand, the blue fiery wings disappeared and in its place, now stood the Taehyung Aera knew.

"Taehyung." Aera whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Aera." Taehyung whispered back as walking towards her he sat on his knees beside the girl and pulled her in a warm hug. 

Aera's tears fell on his shoulders as she wrapped her hands around him and let relief wash over her. "I am sorry. I am sorry for being such a bull head. I am sorry for being so reckless. I should not have run away like that. I should have listened to you. I should have been careful and-"

"Aera!" Taehyung cut in as he broke from the hug and looked at her with his blue eyes. Love and concern were clearly visible in them as an overwhelming feeling of relief filled him. "It was my fault for shouting at you. You did nothing wrong. You were and always have been brave. It was my fault for stopping you and telling you to go back. I am the one who should be sorry, not you."

The tears stopped as Aera looked at the Prince with an endearing feeling in her heart. 

They looked at each other, love filling the gap of silence as Aera parted her lips and whispered, "My Prince." After which exhaustion took over any energy left as her grasp on Taehyung loosened and she fell into a deep sleep.

I gotta say that this time, the chapter was exceptionally long! I hope you all liked it though ^_^