Chapter Text
There are many things in this world that are selfish.
Predators, for one, are obviously selfish. They lurk through dry fields and wet mossy bushes, hankering for their next meal. Once their watchful eyes spot an innocent victim, they pounce. Mercilessly, their spear-like claws or teeth dig into tender flesh, ripping away vulnerable tissue and muscle to fill their insatiable stomachs.
Flowers are even more selfish. While they seem as innocent and helpless as the targets of the vicious predators, they are far worse. These greedy spectacles of nature suck up the life and nutrients from the dirt and soak up the warmth of the sun all for themselves in order to flaunt their pretentious petals.
Even the oceans surrounding the lands are selfish, as they occupy most of the surface of the Earth. And, once in a while, the fierce body of water shows its true power by destroying entire kingdoms under furious waves, almost as if it is the only domain that can exist in this world.
However, despite the other instances of self-centeredness that prove the world, in its nature, is selfish, Taehyung thinks most selfish creatures of all are vampires.
He himself is one, sharing the same pale complexion and piercing fangs as the rest of his kind, but even he acknowledges that they serve no purpose but to serve themselves.
Because while predators ferociously capture and kill their prey, they also help keep their ecosystems in balance by eliminating sick and vulnerable prey and preventing overpopulation.
And while flowers are hungry for nutrients and sunlight, they use these resources to bloom into vessels of sweet nectar that pollinators can visit and collect pollen from, ensuring clean air and rich biodiversity.
And even the oceans do their part by controlling the tides and supporting the life of the world it dominates.
But vampires?
What do cruel, cold-blooded monsters have to offer to the equilibrium of life?
Nothing.
Vampires are selfish in every essence of the word. Their sole purpose is to feed and deplete. For every innocent victim taken under their lethal fangs, another life is taken from this world. All to fill the creature’s ravenous thirst for living blood. A thirst that is as immortal as their own lives.
Taehyung feels this when he stares at the elegant glass of thick, red liquid sitting in front of him. Normally he enjoys the drink with a good book in his study. Now, it makes his stomach churn unsettlingly at the thought of consuming the key to such a selfish species’s survival, even if it was for his own.
“You’re being unreasonable, Taehyung.”
“How the hell am I being unreasonable when you’re the ones forcing this upon me?” He spits, words hot as venom but his face remains stoic.
“This is your duty as the succeeding ruler of Ichorea.” His mother states, equally as calm. “You are to think in the best interest of your people, the very kingdom you will sacrifice yourself to serve.”
“This isn’t a sacrifice, it’s selfish!”
“Watch your tone.” His father warns next to his wife. While they are all seated at the same dining table, the shadows of the room seem to favor the elder vampire’s features, casting him a threatening aura.
Taehyung ignores it so his voice doesn’t waver.
“You said I would be able to choose who I want to marry.” Taehyung seethes, trying his best to not let his voice break but he’s so full of anger, it beats against his pulse like wild thunder.
He had a choice. A chance to decide his own destiny, but now it’s being taken away from him and thrown into the same prison that incarcerates his freedom. He's going to be used and played like some like of pawn for whatever cruel games his parents will play to undoubtably benefit themselves. He almost pities how naive he could have been to think he had a choice in the first place.
“You are no longer a meddling vampir, son. You are the future of our kingdom, and you must act as such.” His mother declares in a finalizing breath. The edges of her beautiful face wrinkle, eyebrows drawn into a frustrated knot. She takes a sip from her golden chalice almost as if she needs it to compose herself. “I don’t want to hear another word about this. We are meeting with the Jeons tomorrow in preparation for the alliance. It would do you well to be punctual.” With one final gaze that pierces through his soul, she dismisses him from the dining room. He leaves his glass along with the rest of his dinner untouched. Not that he had much of an appetite for it in the first place.
“How did it go?”
“If I wasn’t undead I would wish to die.”
Jimin rolls his eyes as he watches the vampire sit down on the sofa next to him.
“So, it was bad then?”
“They’re going to make me marry a stranger.” The teasing smile on his friend’s face dims and turns into a frown. He blinks for a few quiet seconds like he can’t believe it.
“What?”
“Apparently it is my duty as the future ruler of this kingdom.” He echoes the words of his mother from mere moments ago. “I need to sacrifice myself in order to serve my people.” Jimin places a comforting hand on his knee.
“I’m so sorry, Taehyung. You always dreamt about finding your true beloved, and now that’s being taken away from you. You don’t deserve this.” He says earnestly like he's more distraught by the situation than the betrothed prince.
“It’s not your fault, Jimin. This is my destiny.”
“You deserve to choose your own destiny. There isn’t anything that can be done about this?”
Taehyung shakes his head. “We’re meeting the family tomorrow.”
A sigh escapes Jimin’s lips. “I wish there was anything I could do to help. Maybe I can pretend to be a rich duke from a foreign kingdom and win your parents over.” He tries in a playful lilt.
Taehyung smiles for the first time that night, thankful for the other vampire to always brighten his mood. He akins Jimin to a halo of light, and while vampires are known for being as cold as a winter forest, the other radiates warmth and comfort. Not all vampires are selfish, and Jimin is one of those exceptions.
“As much as I would love to see you pull that off, my parents are adamant about this alliance. I’ve never seen my mother speak so seriously before. My father was quiet during dinner, but he made it clear that this is what he expects to happen.”
“I’ll have to step up my charms then.” Jimin puffs his chest out slightly with feigned determination. “What does this suitor have that I don’t?”
“If I knew I would tell you, but I don’t know a thing about them.” Taehyung frowns, realizing how left in the dark he is. “I just found out I’m marrying them an hour ago. It’s all happening so fast. My future lies in the palms of a stranger.”
“You’ll figure this out, Tae. You always do.” Jimin says, squeezing the hand that rests on the prince’s knee. The smile Jimin gives him gives Taehyung hope that everything will be alright.
“I sure hope so.”
As selfish as they are, flowers can be one of the most comforting things on Earth.
Taehyung pushes past a set of heavy wooden doors and walks out of the stifling castle. Breathing in the crisp night air, he takes fatigued steps towards the center of the garden where a fountain stands tall and proud. The prince wishes he could do the same. With a deep sigh, he drops his body on the crumbling terracotta edge. He gazes at all of the flowers that surround him like a maze. He gets lost in the delicate petals bathed in deep shades of midnight. The silver moon highlights the most beautiful parts of the flowers, making them glow like they’re full of magic.
He takes in a deep breath.
Everything looks so calm and peaceful in the stillness of the night. There’s nothing to worry about. No arranged marriages, no responsibilities, nothing.
Taehyung proves again that vampires are selfish as he takes and takes the serenity of it all and gives back nothing but his forlorn emotions.
His eyes lock on a particular flower that the moonlight seems to love the most, shining like it’s under a spotlight. Squinting his eyes, he makes out that it is a rose. The ruby red petals wrap around the sepal as if they were crafted from silk. Something out of a fairytale.
The word leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
Fairytale.
He remembers the stories his mother would lull him to sleep with when he was a young vampir. While laying in the sanctity of her arms, he would dream about enchanted animals and love truer than the sun and moon. His mother promised that he would live a life better than any fairytale when it is his turn to take the throne. However, Taehyung learns the thing about fairytales is that they don’t always come true.
In a few hours his life is going to change; his destiny will be set in stone. He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel like everything was falling apart right now.
He can’t do anything about it except turn to the moon and accept his fate.
Sunlight infiltrates the stained glass of the prince's bedroom, casting a kaleidoscope of colors over every piece of furniture.
Taehyung groans when the light pricks his eyelids. He turns his back to the window and burrows his head further into the softness of his satin pillow. He knows he should wake up before the servants have to come do it for him, but he feels so comfortable. It’s then he revels in the luxuries of being a prince as his body sinks further into the plush mattress. It’s like his bed doesn’t want him to leave its warmth either, so how could he even think about getting up?
But then, he realizes the error of his decisions when the doors of his bedroom slam open with a loud thud. His body jolts from the impact that could be felt from the other side of the room. He groans for the second time that morning.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
“I thought you left yesterday.” Taehyung grumbles as he pulls the covers over his head. He almost kicks Jimin in the ribs when the other vampire rips them away. Fixing him with a deathly but sleepy glare, he sees the blinding grin painting Jimin's face.
“Lady Cho allowed me to stay the night. I figured you could use some moral support before you meet your future husband today.”
“Husband?” Taehyung questions, rubbing the remains of sleep from his eyes.
“Yes, good news for you. He’s pretty cute too.”
Taehyung frowns. His brain is still half-asleep as it slowly processes Jimin’s words.
“What do you mean he’s cute? Have you seen him?”
“He’s in the dining hall with his parents and your parents.” Jimin says casually. So casually that Taehyung nods it off and is about to dive back under the covers until he stills.
“What?” Taehyung gasps, immediately sitting up. He whips his head towards an elaborately decorated clock. “The Jeons aren’t supposed to arrive for another two hours.” He throws the sheets off his body and leaps out of bed, darting towards the opposite side of the grand bedroom. Suddenly he is much more awake as if he was shot with a bolt of lightning. “Why didn’t anyone wake me up?”
“Oh, believe me, Lady Cho was one second away from marching up here herself, but I somehow convinced her to let me fetch you. Let’s say I’m more charming than I let on.” Jimin says with a chuckle.
“Maybe you can charm the Jeons to come back when I find my pants.” Taehyung mutters from where frantically searching for the cursed article of clothing in his walk-in closet.
“You mean the ones you accidentally threw on the floor?” Taehyung rushes back into the room and drops the miscellaneous garments he gathered in his arms in a burst of panic. He curses when he picks up the pants off the ground next to his bedsheets and shakes out the dust and wrinkles. “Do you want me to call one of your servants?”
“No need, I’m almost done.” He dismisses the idea of being even more late because his servants, bless them, would need to spend an eternity to make him look less like a train wreck and he doesn’t have enough time for that. His mother said to be punctual and that is the one thing he didn’t do. “How do I look?”
“Want me to be honest?”
“Yes.”
“I would think you were one of the servants who were supposed to dress the prince if your portrait wasn’t plastered all over the castle walls.” Jimin says truthfully. Taehyung pleads silently with his eyes to help him not look as such, so the other vampire makes his way towards the prince and begins fixing up his attire. “Wear your rings and your cloak, then you’ll be fine.” Jimin advises to the prince who nods gratefully.
“I don’t know what I would do without you.” Taehyung confesses when he rifles through a jewelry box and slides a set of gilded rings onto his fingers. Jimin then helps him mount a beautiful dark red cloak on his shoulders. Turning to the nearest mirror, he looks over his appearance. His hair is still a tousled mess and he’s sure the dark circles under his eyes could be seen for miles away. But he’s presentable enough that hopefully he looks more like a member of the royal family rather than someone who serves them.
“Probably face your mother’s wrath.” Jimin chuckles as he brushes off Taehyung’s shoulders one last time. He gives him a thumbs up, flashing his fangs in a bright smile. Taehyung doesn’t know why he looks so giddy, especially if he’s seen exactly who the prince will be marrying and knows he isn't exactly thrilled with the notion. Wasn’t he on his side last night and agreed that this whole arranged marriage ordeal was unfair? Taehyung has so many questions, so many things he wants to know, but as the ticks of the clock resonate through the room, he realizes that he doesn’t have enough time quench his curiosity.
“The Elders know I wouldn’t survive if that were to happen.”
“At least you wouldn’t be forced to wed a stranger.” Jimin shrugs, but his grin is more teasing and knowing than anything. “Now go out there and woo your future husband.” Jimin all but pushes him out the door with uncontained excitement that is starting to spill out from him like a water fountain. Taehyung eyes him suspiciously but brushes it off.
In a few moments his life is going to change; his destiny is already set in stone.
All he can do is see where the moonlight guides him.