"Excuse me?" Mai stammered, the words echoing eerily in the cold room. "That- that really doesn't- doesn't- uh, I don't-"

Mai didn't know what to say. Maybe her reaction time was off- she was supposed to be feeling angry, scared, shooketh- well, she was pretty shook. But not as much as she would have expected. She'd been hearing this in her dreams- the odd star lady had called her that so many times.

Warrior.

She should have been pissed. All Mai wanted to do was go home- and someone calling her a WARRIOR that was vital for the survival of these kingdoms was something that really wasn't going to get her there.

It came to her all at once that she wasn't going home anytime soon.

But she wasn't angry.

She was a little... relieved?

That doesn't make sense, she scoured the edges of her mind, trying to find the source of her giddiness, Why am I calm about this?

"You knew," a wondering voice hit her ears in deep baritone, before increasing in both volume and sharpness. "You KNEW!"

Jimin stared at her, betrayal and anger filling his usually placid gray eyes, but still riddled with a little hesitation, as if he didn't want to believe it. "Really?"

"Look at her face," Taehyung spat, curiosity gone as he answered Jimin's soft question. "She KNEW what she was, and she didn't say anything,"

Mai did not know what was going on.

"No!" she protested. "That- no- no, I didn't- it was just-"

"Ha!" Taehyung was bristling furiously by now, and Mai was almost scared. She shrunk back and he took a threatening step forward. "You played us the entire time, you-"

"KIM. TAEHYUNG."

Silence.

"Enough,"

That was when Mai's clarity came rushing back to her, all at once.

Taehyung was furious. Jimin was betrayed. The king was angry, but not at her. And Mai... Mai was shrinking back, confusion and fear in her brown eyes.

Wait. They're not brown anymore.

A spike of pain flashed through her and she felt a slight shift in her irises, as if tears were about to fall, but there was no wetness in her eyes. She could physically feel them changing color, flashing horribly fast in tune to her pulsing heartbeat.

She forced her fear back. She was acting irrational because she was still in shock.

Enough of this. You are Mai Jaspal, and you are not afraid.

"I didn't know," she raised her head up and regarded Taehyung cooly, a long-awaited anger pulsing through her. He'd been friendly enough, kind enough, funny enough- but he was so quick to jump to this suspicion, and Mai felt distrust flare in her heart. "It was a dream. Multiple dreams, actually, and I recognized that phrase." she turned to the king. "Warrior. There was a lady there, and she was made of stars, and she called me a warrior."

The tension in the air was thick enough to slice through it with a knife, but once Mai spoke, calm and collected, it sort of diffused.

Her eyes stopped shifting.

That GOODNESS the feeling like I'm about to cry is just IRRITATING.

IRRITATING I TELL YOU.

"The Star Queen was warning you," the king sighed softly. "But I wouldn't have expected you to understand it then. She can be... vague,"

A half-grin pulled at the corners of King Jaeyoon's lips, brightening up his weary face for a moment.

"You know her?" Mai asked, remembering, in detail, the snippy, impatient nature of the woman in her dreams. She wouldn't have expected these two to get along.

The king, unexpectedly, threw his head back and laughed. "In a sense. I'm a seer, so she sometimes appears to me with vague poems of flashes of the future. She can be incredibly irritating,"

This made absolutely no sense to Mai, except the 'irritating' part. That was crystal clear.

"I have to agree," she muttered under her breath. The king shot her an amused, almost fond expression.

There was a moment of silence. Mai refused to look at either Jimin or Taehyung. Their sudden anger, their ready suspicion- that hurt. She hadn't known them that long, so she wasn't sure why, but it did.

I'm not a bad person, she thought, quietly, almost unconsciously. But maybe they really think I am, and all the kindness they showed me was an act.

I'm a tool.

Something to be used- a warrior, to be displayed or thrown into battle, with no regard for my life or feelings.

An object.

She hurt, and she wanted it to stop.

She could feel three silver gazes on her face, which was slowly hardening, from confusion to fear to realization to anger.

NOW was the time that she was truly and utterly done with this place.

Those FROG-FACED BLOBS OF CAMEL SPIT SAKDJSKLJFLJLDAJFL-

"Jimin," the king broke the silence, eyes never leaving Mai, who was still glaring at the ground, trying very hard to keep her insults in. "Take our guest to the suites and let her pick a room." he glanced at Mai. "What is your name, child?"

The word 'child' sent her over the edge, even though it shouldn't have. The king had been calm, and gentle, and kind. He certainly didn't deserve the glare Mai was shooting him.

There was a cold, stony silence. Mai could feel Taehyung rustle behind her, as if to step up and brush his fingers against hers, as he did with the encounter with Sungmin, but he caught himself, stepping back. She could feel the guilt radiating off him in waves, although she couldn't see his face.

It serves the SNOT CHEWING SNORE A MINUTE SON OF A TOAD RIGHT-

Mai inhaled before responding, words as barbed and venomous as ice- well, ice wasn't venomous, so (okay, as barbed and as venomous as a SNAP CRACKLING LIONFISH, HOW ABOUT THAT)- leaving her lips as she forced her vocal cords to speak through the angry tightness of her throat.

"Mai Jaspal,"

If it wasn't clear to the three people in the room before, it certainly was now- Mai was angry. Very, very angry. She had read enough books to know how this was going to end. She was going to be exploited, hunted, killed if she didn't obey. She was going to have to risk her life for the people doing all these things to her.

In other words, she was screwed.

Jimin visibly flinched at her tone. Taehyung took a step back.

The king sighed, looking defeated. "Child-"

Mai did not let him "I did not ask to be brought here," Mai tried to keep her voice calm, but her anger was thinly veiled. "I did not ask to be the warrior. And I want to go home."

There was silence- and shock, Mai observed. Did they really not expect this? She had made it blatantly clear she did not want anything to do with this place, so why did they look so scandalized and hurt? Why did they act like she had suggested they kill themselves

"You cannot!" Jimin breathed, his voice nearly a whisper. "We- you-"

"Oh, I certainly can," Mai snapped at him, finally breaking, splintering inside with a crack. "I don't care about this place. I don't care about you," hurt flamed in Jimin's eyes at her heavily sarcastic, offensive tone and hurtful words. She barrelled on without guilt. "I care about my friends. I care about my home. I care about my well-being. I certainly do not want to be something you can use and then discard."

The room was silent once more. The king was looking at her in something like pity. Jimin and Taehyung were staring at her with shock in their eyes, as if the thought of that hurt them to think about, as if they had not been treating her angrily and suspiciously just a few minutes ago.

"We'll talk at the banquet tomorrow," King Jaeyoon sighed, leaning heavily against the headboard, clearly exhausted after Mai's triade. "Jimin, send maids to her room to prepare her when she wakes up. There are only a few hours until daybreak, so I expect her to sleep through the entirety of today. She is not to be disturbed until tomorrow. The ordeal must have been grueling."

A wave of gratitude washed though Mai before she remembered she was supposed to be angry.

But she was tired. And-

"Send up a plate of food from the kitchens to her room as well,"

Mai literally almost forgot her fury then and there.

NOTHING is more important than food.

And yet, Mai remained silent, barely nodding her head.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Jimin bowed deeply at the waist. The king made a dismissive hand gesture, and then the pink-haired man reached for Mai's arm. The glare she shot him made him recoil, swiftly pulling his hand back.

"May I go with them, father?"

Mai whipped around with an expression between anger and confusion. That was the last thing she expected. She was mad at Taehyung, he was mad at her (and hopefully a little bit scared of her too). There was no reason for him to want anything more to do with her. So why...?

"No," the king's voice was suddenly hard, stern. "No, Taehyung, I need to talk to you,"

THAT doesn't sound good.

"Good night, uncle," Jimin looked back once before striding out the door. "Mai... please come with me,"

He spoke it as a request- imploring, pleading, soft. As if he expected her to say no.

She followed, a twinge of remorse twisting at her heart as she solidified what she was going to do that night.

The kind said no one was to disturb her.

So no one would stop her from escaping before the dawn broke.

She'd be long gone, away from this place.

Long gone.

X        X       X

It was only a little more walking, compared to the endless trek to get to the king's room, but Mai literally felt like she wanted to collapse.

Anger makes you very tired.

Jimin would glance at her occasionally, opening his mouth as if to say something before snapping it shut. If she didn't know any better, Mai would say that he was worried about her. She was limping pretty heavily at this point, and her chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe, and her head pounded like a sledgehammer was trying to crack it open. She felt sick to her stomach, nausea welling up in her as she walked.

She was exhausted.

She wasn't sure how she was going to go through with her escape plan at this rate, but she needed to get out of here. This palace had as much of a toll on her exhaustion as the walking and fighting did.

A particularly labored breath escaped her mouth, and when a violent pound of her migraine hit her, she stumbled. Jimin was at her side instantly.

"Mai? Are you okay?" he knelt next to her, his taller frame bending down so her was eye-level with her own hunched head.

"Fi- I'm fine-"

Her voice sounded ridiculously weak, and she hated herself for it. Jimin rolled his eyes.

"Like hell you are," he snorted. "Come on."

Mai stared at Jimin's outstretched arms in confusion, her brain feeling like it was swimming through honey. "What?"

"I'm carrying you," he said simply. "You clearly cannot walk by yourself,"

"Yes I can!" Mai protested, pushing herself to her feet- and then promptly falling to her knees again.

"Mhm," Jimin raised an eyebrow, quickly pushing a strand of his cotton-candy-pink hair back before opening his hands again. "Sure. Totally,"

"Shut- shut up," Mai gasped as a tide of nausea rolled through her.

So this is what happens when you overwork yourself, she thought dryly, hazily. I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I get back home and am swamped in work I need to make up.

The 'IF I get home' was left in the recesses of her mind. Somehow, the thought of home rendered her even weaker.

She stood, shakily... and then promptly toppled backwards, her hazy mind thinking with detachment if she would be knocked out when she hit the floor.

Except... she didn't hit the floor. Strong, muscled arms caught her instead, one falling in place underneath her knees, and one in the crook of her back.

"Easy," Jimin said softly, looking down at her. Good lord, he was beautiful. She could feel every part of him as he held her close to himself, his taut, muscled skin rippling as she pressed against it. He had long since shed his chainmail for a leather tunic, although Mai couldn't remember when- she was too tired and sick to recall much of anything that had happened during the short walk after the two of them had left the king's room.

Mai looked up, vision already turning blurry on the edges. Jimin's messy hair and concerned eyes and wide expanse of exposed, sweaty, supple skin of his neck and chest that was damn DISRESPECTFUL right above her. Her heartbeat quickened.

I need to get out of here.

She writhed, shifting and pushing in an attempt to get Jimin to drop her. "I can walk," she protested feebly.

"No, you can't!" Jimin sighed, but she continued to struggle.

Suddenly, she was yanked up from chest level to a height so Jimin could look her in the eye, so close that if either of them leaned their lips would be brushing.

Mai could not breathe.

"Stop. Moving," he spoke, voice raspy, eyes dark. "Stop RESISTING,"

Mai still could not breathe.

"I'm trying to help you, you stubborn woman," he growled. "But you just can't take it, can you?"

Mai was taking a lot of the things he was saying in the worst way possible- she really couldn't breathe at this point, she was flushed and hot and was too out of it to even hide it. Her eyes were wide, shifting colors in the red-pink spectrum (she could tell that too- she didn't know how, but that knowledge just made it all the more embarrassing). A hot flush creeped up her ears to the back of her neck, and she opened her mouth ever so slightly to let her breath come out easier.

Her pants mingled with Jimin's, fanning out over his lips.

He smirked, letting his voice drop a couple octaves.

"Let me take care of you,"

...

Well, sh*t.

Heat flared in every corner of Mai's bady, rushing through her. She knew that this was really, really not the time, but there was only so much a girl could take when faced with hooded, dark eyes, slow, seductive smirks, and purred, raspy words. Mai fell limp, unable to really do much of anything. Her eyes lazily flashed red, orange, rose, pastel blue and then rose again.

Satisfied, Jimin let his arms fall back down, letting Mai thud against his chest. His smirk never left his face, and before Mai could truly slip into a state of semi-consciousness, she came to the conclusion that Jimin was just as bad as Taehyung.

X         X        X

Mai wasn't really sleeping, rather slipping in and out of consciousness as Jimin carried her gently through the hallway. Jimin looked down at her and smiled, just a tiny bit. She'd occasionally open her eyes halfway before letting them flutter shut again, sighing. She shivered against him, and Jimin felt a little pang in his chest as he looked at the girl who had been so fiery and snappish and full of life now rendered helpless in his arms.

It hurt, just a little bit.

"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly, clenching his jaw and Mai nuzzled into him, probably not even knowing what she was doing. Of course, she didn't hear or respond. He felt guilt flush through him like a cold wave. Taehyung was brash, and easily angered, but he was still one of the kindest, craziest, and most fun-loving people Jimin had ever met.

And now Mai probably thought they both were terrible people.

He didn't know why he cared- maybe it was because Mai was so drastically different from all the women he had been surrounded by his whole life. In this palace, made of glass and marble and silver and cold, cold stone, everyone was after something. No one dared to be rude to someone as high-up as him or Taehyung. Especially the women. They were a CHORE, he knew. Always simpering and smiling and clinging onto the two of them because if either of them fell for a woman, she would live in comfort and security her whole life.

Jimin, frankly, found it disgusting.

But Jimin was allowed to leave the palace, unlike Taehyung. He was the head of the guards, after all, so he had more freedom. But even in town, when people didn't truly know who he was, the women still followed him. He was good-looking and he knew it- but it was still irritating, how he was stalked on like this.

Every single one of his friends, from each of the four kingdoms, would agree with him in this. It was a chore, a bore, a consistent pest.

But the women in town were the lesser of the two evils. He burned through them quickly. He didn't even want to know how many hearts he had broken when searching for a single person who wasn't shallow and didn't have an ulterior motive.

But Mai was different. She managed to insult him multiple times since their first meeting. She was fiery and wasn't afraid to cuss in front of him. She was just down-to-Earth and present and there.

He didn't know what to think of her just yet. She was rude, unpredictable, and had a temper to match Taehyung's, which was something he hadn't seen for a very long time. But seeing her weak made him upset. Seeing her think that Jimin and Taehyung were low enough to just use her made him want to tear his hair out. He would NEVER do that to anyone! ANYONE!

He let out a frustrated breath. He didn't like how she had just jumped to conclusions. But she was afraid and in an unfamiliar place and Taehyung had been yelling at her for being a liar (and Jimin believed him, although he was ashamed to admit it), so what was he supposed to expect?

"Yah, Candy Boy," Mai's drowsy voice jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her, gaze still dark with frustration. "Let me go. I can walk now,"

OOF, THIS GIRL.

That was it. He had taken so much pleasure in making her all flushed a few minutes ago- he knew that if she wasn't in this state right now, she would probably have snapped a witty remark in his face and teasingly blown him off. She had done it with Taehyung. But she WAS in this state right now, and she was being stubborn, and now it was time to shut her up again.

He wasn't going to lie and say that he had been thinking calm thoughts while making Mai all hot and bothered- no, he wanted to imagine what Mai's smart mouth would feel like when he really was shutting her up.

Jimin, what the hell.

"You can walk?" Jimin asked, letting a dark glint shine in his eye. "Really?"

Mai swallowed, brown eyes flashing the color of honey. "Ye-"

"Sweetheart, if I say you're not going to be able to walk, then you're not going to be able to walk,"

Mai's eyes flashed blue and then pink, her body heating up in Jimin's arms as she caught sight of his smirk.

He chuckled, sending a rakish grin in her direction. She curled in on herself in embarrassment.

Hm. This should be fun.