Chapter Text
Rain drops thumped against the window pane, droplets running down the glass in abundant valleys.
The sound of the restless pattering resonated around the otherwise silent room, only the brewing storm to keep Hyunjin company.
His bedroom was situated in the highest tower of the castle, the sheer height providing a vast view of the dull land he'd one day call his own.
As for now though, he'd been dismissed to his room like an adolescent child. Instructed by his mother and father to report to his confines immediately after his outburst at the dining table earlier that evening.
And who could disobey the king and queen?
He'd grown tired of the endless conversations surrounding him in regards to who the boy was going to wed now his 21st birthday had passed.
Conversations that did not include his own judgement, rather than the decision being made for him. An impending war was on the horizon, and the royal family wanted to ensure their monarchy was strong as ever.
But as he peered down at the sleeping kingdom below him, Hyunjin was not ready to take that role.
He did not want to rule. He did not want to march along his father's side in a war originated from greed and selfishness. Didn't want to have his life controlled by others' mindset of what was best.
He wanted freedom.
Hyunjin decided he'd had enough. Could no longer cope under the heavy pressures his father weighed down on him.
And so he fled.
He snuck down the elegant corridors he'd once rejoiced around as a young child, pausing at every corner to ensure none of the maids or guards were nearby.
Using the exit through the employees quarters, Hyunjin crossed the trimmed gardens until he reached the outer edge. He squirmed through a small crack where the surrounding walls had begun to wear away, a passage he had stumbled across many years ago, leading him to the streets outside of their estate.
He had no plan as he bolted.
No time to think of strategy when his father had alerted him of the grand gala of the 'finest bonnies around' happening tomorrow in yet another hope to find Hyunjin a blushing bride fit for the throne.
No set place in mind to run, just anywhere that wasn't there; there where his parents shunned him for wanting a different course in life.
Their words of criticism rang in his ears as he sprinted down silent paths. How he was selfish, naive, ungrateful. Warnings not to bring dishonour to their family name.
Torrential rain soaked his hooded cloak and impared his vision, only a weary hand to attempt to shield his eyes.
Feet splashed in muddy puddles along the dirt road, each time creating specks of dirt to spoil his royal garments.
Deafened by the rumbling thunder paired with his heartbeat pounding in his ears, Hyunjin continued to run until he couldn't no more. Directions long forgotten, awareness no longer considered, the brunette simply fled until the towering castle was a mere silhouette in the blanket of downpour.
Hyunjin tripped over a broken fence, upper wooden slats missing and causing him to tumble to the ground. Mud caked his chin, but he was quick to scramble back to his feet when the voices of two peasants sounded close by.
The hem of his trouser leg torn by a bramble bush. Ankles raw from relentless nettle attacks. Feet blistered and sore from the endless running, his suede mules not providing any form of protection as they threatened to slip off his soaking feet.
Hyunjin finally stopped when it became too painful to breathe, chest heaving as the boy tried to regain his strength. Hand leant on the trunk of a grand oak tree for support, grateful of the broad leaves offering temporary defence from the churning storm.
Upon looking around, Hyunjin realised he'd stepped into the enchanted forest. An area off bounds from the human kind, especially those with royal blood coursing through their veins.
Danger loomed within each nook and cranny, a never-ending landscape of billowing trees housing the most ferocious beasts Hyunjin had only ever read about.
A piercing chill ran down his spine, the drenched clothing clinging to his body like an uncomfortable second skin.
The hairs at the nape of his neck raised, and Hyunjin doubted it was because of the open skies anymore, not when a deeper growl rattled within the booming thunder.
Eyes scanned the surroundings in panic, looking for any sign of exit from the dreary woods. But Hyunjin couldn't recall the direction he had fled from, nothing but eerily similar trees encircling him with no clear passage to safety.
A flash of lightning lit the area in a glimmer of light, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes staring back at him from deep within the vegetation.
Frozen on the spot with pure fear convulsing at his bones, a second flash only confirmed the beast was closing in, a haunting prowl towards frightened prey. Thick drool slathered from sharp protruding fangs, snarled lips showcasing the appendages in their full glory.
Hyunjin's feet moved on their own accord, taking a hesitant step backwards with each step forward the monster took. His foot caught stuck in a tangle of ivy making him stumble, a new moment of vulnerability for the beast to take action.
Despite his best attempt to flee, his weakened legs were no match to the quadrupe. Breath escaped his lungs as he was knocked to the ground with a hefty blow, helpless as he laid beneath the ferocious beast.
Scorching pain seared through his body as taloned claws ripped the flesh of his thigh, rain mixing with the deep blood gushing from the fresh wound.
He tried to scramble away, nails digging in the sludge in hopes to crawl away.
But it was no use, and with another slash across his bicep, Hyunjin falted in his escape. Curling up in a fetal position, terror shook the boy to his core, impending death looming over him.
Eyes shut tight, Hyunjin expected another vicious attack. Expected to feel the point of those gruesome teeth first hand as they would surely tear at his flesh, succumbed to being the monster's next meal.
Yet it never came.
Blood seeped and spread throughout the saturated ground around him.
Head weak and dazen, as if his skull weighed a ton as it anchored to the terrain.
Hyunjin was sure he could hear a deep voice bellowing, but the high pitched ringing in his ears made him dubious; unable to detect what was real and what was hallucinated in his ragged state.
Slowly peeking his eyes open, the world around him was a blur. Black spots blinded his sight, an indication of the rapid blood loss and physical stress his body had taken.
He knew for sure he was wavering on the brink of death when a bright blue light shined through the grey film. Illumination that seemingly glittered and glowed, nothing like anything he'd ever seen before.
Hyunjin was convinced the beaming luminance was an angel from the heavens above, the way the preacher had relayed in the town square. Came to guide him towards the islands of the blessed, the afterlife behind those pearly gates.
His throat burned as he tried to speak, only a husky croak feebly slipping out instead. But it was enough to get the attention of the mysterious light, a clouded dazzle that made Hyunjin wince.
Then darkness enveloped him whole.
A black void shrouded him as he slipped out of consciousness and surrendered to his evident fatality.