⊰ chapter nine ⊱

Dara shook her head before slapping the table at the private tavern harshly, the soldiers flinching at her wrath against the table. Taehyung swallowed, sweating like rain as Skovier stared him down from the other side. Taehyung's adam's apple wobbled before he opened his mouth hesitantly, "I am sorry, Your Majesty. I had no idea the Odyssey would be written in Eastern language."

The red haired woman touched her chin, rubbing it as she nodded, calming down, "I know. Not your fault."

The entire Odyssey was in written in a language that Dara should have known but had no idea because of the never done practice on it. Magic was hard to read and Dara was never trained for it. Dara rolled her tongue inside her inner cheek, thinking, "This has to have another way. Where did you steal it from?"

"They have a Caucus too. After they found out about my identity and tortured me, they kept me at their dungeons. I escaped the dungeons at their fifth ritual of the month where they prayed for your doom and the capture of your compass. The Caucus wasn't busy, so I stole it and took the root to South." Taehyung's wounds were still fresh, some were weeks old.

Dara bit her lower lip, looking down at the Odyssey opened in front of her, "I have no power left in me to summon the words out or to translate it into any memories. Clearly, the Odyssey is about my and the summoner's lives."

"Your lives havent ended yet. How did they put them here? Is it a foreshadow of your lives?" Seokjin questioned from the other end of the table.

The woman shook her head slowly, staring at the foreign letters, "No. This is the journey of my reincarnation's life. They say there were three re births. One of us had pleaded to not be remembered by any but Deborah. So it makes sense why they only put two of ours lives here."

Frustrated, Dara stepped back with a heavy sigh. Her eyes fell on the door once the red haired soldier, Park Jimin entered the tent with a hesitant smile on his lips. Dara's shoulders loosened and she tilted her head at him, giving him a strict look, "So I have been keeping another snake under my roof all these days?"

Jimin looked down at his fidgeting fingers, his eyes guilty.

Dara sighed, "Everyone has been lying to me lately. I wonder how many of you are true to me," she looked at the rest of the soldiers and gave Taehyung a mischievous look, "I will get your head off your body if the Odyssey is anything falsey."

Taehyung returned the smile, "Blood bound, we are yours."

The red haired looked at her cousin, and carried the smile to him before touching his cheek. Jimin's face fell once she did and he bowed his head again. Dara patted his shoulder, "You could have told me."

"I had to keep my distance. Though my job was to protect you, someone else did the job better than me," Jimin said.

Dara didnt let her smile disappear since that statement as she smiled wider, "So you wrote documents of my grace to South?"

"I wasn't illiterate after all." Jimin smiled.

Dara thought over it for a second; of course, Jungkook wasn't illiterate either. He had been literate all along.

The woman slapped the moment off their shoulders and returned to the table with Jimin quickly following her. His eyes frowned at the Odyssey, and then he glanced at Taehyung, "You stole this?"

Dara and Seokjin shrugged with Taehyung at the same time and Jimin raised his brows, impressed as his eyes skimmed the Odyssey, "I am sure this is no language that we can speak or translate. None of Southerns practice enough magic."

"What about Father?" Dara whispered, expectant.

"He wouldn't know Eastern, come on. We have never met an Eastern. The only Eastern ever visied the Southern real was Illari and then you. That is it." Jimin sighed, holding his waist as he tried to think with the rest, "Will your compass be able to help?"

"No," Dara said, upsetting herself even more, "If I regained the magic in the compass, I might be able to translate the Odyssey or have the compass lead the way. The elf said most of the magic in the compass is in me but it's diffused. We need to re-generate my magic so....," all of them looked at Dara and her eyes grew big before grabbing Jimin's shoulders with a tight grasp, "Who is the owner of the Southern Spirit?"

Jimin's mouth opened wide with realization, "It's Lord Zurien."

The smile of relief enhanced Dara's mood at once before she clapped her hands together but Jimin's smile fell completely as tension spread across his face. Seokjin slapped the table from joy and Skovier and Taehyung stood there, clueless. Dara was excited, "I knew it. He seemed to know so much about everything already, I knew it! Where is the spirit and how can I summon it?"

The red haired soldier's mouth went a bit dry before he answered her, "You should wait till night. His spirit animal roams the forests of South around that time, when Zurien is asleep. It guards the realm."

"Ah," Dara smiled dreamily, "So it's a protector. What's the animal?"

"The red fox." Jimin swallowed.

Southern spirit, the red fox. Dara had to play clever, more than she already was.

****

The celebration tonight was for Dara's arrival. Dara sat close to Zurien in the center of all the Southerners, with the inhabitants all around them and women dancing on the stages. They offered beer, wine, and berry mixtures in each cup, and Dara had the impression that she was in a bar similar to the one she had once been to with Jungkook in the North. As Dara greeted the women who were inquiring about the catastrophes that had occurred during her rule, Zurien was busy boasting about her to the Southern people who were watching from a distance. Dara only responded briefly and kept her smile intact.

Her eyes lingered at the little windows of the house that portrayed dawn breaking; she had been attempting to gain Zurien's attention for the past hour, to speak to him about finding the Southern spirit tonight. But the Southerns were too busy to come visit Dara and Zurien's attention was already seized by the men in the housing. Jimin walked to Zurien after a while and whispered something to his ears before Zurien nodded. Jimin stepped back and Zurien looked at Dara, and he smiled. Dara was confused but Zurien touched her hair before kissing her forehead, "I shall go now. My wait is finally over. I shall rest now."

Dara frowned, still smiling, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Absolutely fine," Zurien took Dara's hand and kissed them, "Thank you for coming to South, Deborah. You have made my soul happy. I cannot wait to hear the things you achieve."

"Of course," Dara's smile was now distant as she looked between Jimin and Zurien, "I reckon you are going to your chambers to rest?"

"Yes," Zurien nodded, "It's late. I must go. And you should find the things you need to."

Dara watched Jimin hold Zurien's hand, helping the old man out of the arena. His red hair did not look very faded today, they looked bright. Like Dara's. As if youth was embracing Zurien with open arms. So was Jimin's. So was the rest of South's. The night came to an end and soon, Dara found her chance out of the arena. Seokjin, Skovier and Taehyung were already waiting outside the housing. The break of dawn was near and the four hurried to the borders of the South.

The forests were deep. But mostly, it looked alive to Dara. She could hear the morning birds, the rustling of the leaves as they ran over them and the whispering wind that lead the way. An hour must have past by as the four waited across the Southern borders, Seokjin saw no hope there. He sat down beside the soldiers on the dead tree bark, sighing, "You should have at least told your father you were hunting down his spirit."

"I know," Dara groaned, "He looked too tired to take that information in. I didnt want to disturb him."

"Why was Jimin ignoring you at the festival?" Skovier frowned, a pout over his lips, "He didn't even want to speak to me before taking the Lord away from the feast."

Taehyung sighed, "I wonder what Jungkook must be doing right now. Do you think he is looking for us?"

Dara became silent. Her lashes lowered.

"Better if he does," Seokjin looked at Dara, "This journey is hopeless."

"What do you mean hopeless?" Dara peered out, her brows arched and her lips parted as she spoke, "I am not here to pick flowers so if you can't help my nerves calm down then keep your mouth shut, soldier. I am fighting something very magical with powerless hands."

"Exactly why we are here, Your Majesty," Seokjin said, "I am just saying you look confused and ravished without Jungkook. And it hurts all of us to find you so fragile without knowing if it's okay to let you do these things. He was your husband, your friend, despite the betrayal he would protect you and know what was right and wrong—,"

"Say no more," Dara silenced him at once before looking back at the depth of the forest that they were in, "it's almost sun rise, where is that thing?"

"How do you plan to capture it anyway? Can you run?" Skovier asked, "I mean we can, but you are the one capturing it."

Seokjin turned to look at Skovier, his eyes strict, "I am sure if you can run, you can also use Her Majesty's compass, Hunter Skovier? You can't instantly become a candidate of the Curve once you hold the compass, right Skovier?"

Taehyung grinned. Dara tried not to laugh and succeeded as she looked away to suppress her smile after looking at Skovier's dumbfounded face.

"Come on, the way you first came to the palace and challenged Jungkook's guts, I thought you were smarter," Seokjin made a reference from the past.

"But he does look stronger," Taehyung nudged Skovier who rolled his eyes and went back to looking at Dara's hair. Taehyung noticed the contact between the gaze of his and whispered to Skovier, "You are not giving birth to a new fetish of Her Majesty's hair too, right?"

"What?" Skovier snapped out, blinking at Taehyung.

Taehyung grinned, "Jeon Jungkook was obsessed with Dara's hair. I wonder if he was mad enough when he saw the hair short."

"How do you know if he was obsessed with her hair?" Skovier frowned.

Tehyung sighed, suddenly the urge to agree with Seokjin who nodded before he made any remarks of disappointment. But Taehyung was a sweetheart enough to answer Skovier, "Nothing stayed a secret in the state of soldiers. Definitely not between us. We were buddies."

Dara smiled, looking away from the soldiers.

They have left behind some good days.

If North was the happy start of many memories, it had to be the end of all pain too.

Dara's ears perked up at the sound of the leaves rustling, and she turned her attention to the shadowy depths of the forest. All of a sudden, Dara's eyesight was becoming increasingly hazy. Her thoughts were rewinding. The dawn was turning around. Darkness returned, and Dara's hair was blowing in the gentle Southern breeze. It smelled like red roses in the air. The sparkle of light that was coming towards her prevented her from closing her eyes. The soldiers' voices stopped speaking, as if they had never existed.

When Dara saw the most gorgeous red-skinned fox approaching her with eyes so green she might have been mistaken for her own, her heart melted. The vibe around them felt eerily familiar. Every stride the fox took in her direction was delicate, and Dara wanted to remain gazing even when the light snatched them away from the image.

She couldn't almost believe when her compass ripped off her palm and floated towards the fox, steadily levitating in the air before it's eyes. Dara's heart was beating fast now but she was expectant. The fox purred, it's eyes blinking at Dara. Dara noticed a tear drop fall from it's eye before light blasted out of it. Dara closed her eyes, feeling the wind blow faster past her and defended the illumination of light with her arms before her. The compass fell to the ground softly, on a pile of dead leaves and she opened her eyes to nothing but the emptiness of a dead forest.

Dara ran to grab the compass when she looked up at the trees, they weren't green anymore. Around her was emptiness. Dead trees, old ones, dying ones surrounded the forest. But it was dawn break for sure, the darkness was disappearing and the fox was no more. Dara pressed her compass to her chest, stepping back from the spot.

"That was magnificent!" Taehyung's voice was heard. Dara immediately turned around to find the soldiers running to her, Skovier clapping his hands as Seokjin wore a smile of surprise. Dara was still in mere shock when Taehyung embrcaed her, pulling away in between to look at her, "Are you alright? I thought you would turn blind from the amount of light the spirit was giving off!"

"That was...very unexpected," Seokjin whispered, "I never thought you wouldn't have to fight the Southern spirit. Jungkook said you had fight the Northern spirit to conquer it."

Dara frowned, "He made me fight it...but why is everything...the forest was so green. It's dead now."

"Dead now?" Skovier frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Yes, it was so green before. Before the fox appeared. Now, everything is so dead. There are no leaves," Dara panicked, "I need to see Father."

"Who's father?" Seokjin touched Dara's shoulders, brows arched with tension, "What father?"

"Zurien, my father," Dara's heart skipped a beat, "What do you mean who's father. My father."

Taehyung exchanged a look with Seokjin before swallowing hard, "My Queen, Zurien died several years ago."

"No," Dara mumbled, "What do you mean, soldier? He was alive a few hours ago, at the house party! We were sitting—,"

"No," Seokjin grabbed Dara's shoulders, steadying her, "What are you saying, do you hear yourself? Lord Zurien, your father, died years ago. You told us yourself on the way here. Taehyung got here a week ago...then too, here was nothing. The relamis dead."

"When?!" Dara screamed.

"Are you joking?" Seokjin was agitated, "Deborah, the entire realm...the entire Southern realm has been dead for decades! This land is dead. We have come here to collect the spirit of the South, you needed that to regenerate your powers. And you have done that."

"No!" Dara screamed, tearing up, "Zurien is alive! He is my father—we were sitting together! We were talking, laughing—you are lying!"

"We are not, Your Majesty," Skovier said, eyes worried, "We followed the constellation your compass made with the traces Zurien left for you—that was decades ago. You told us yourself. This realm is dead and has been closed for years."

"No...," Dara cried out, "Where is Jimin?"

Seokjin frowned, "Jimin? Who is that?"

Suddenly, Dara felt the voices in her head return. The soldiers saw those eyes become golden once again as Dara focused into deep thinking technique—Dara's powers were regenertaing, rebirthing once more from the pause created by the magic breaker. Her fingers were golden, her short hair floating, her lashes glowing. Dara frowned and closed her eyes, consuming all the grace. Her lips parted, tears fell and when she opened her eyes once more, her green eyes came back and she stood there still.

Taehyung swallowed hard, a bit fearful, "What happened?"

"I can feel it," Dara nodded, "The spirits, the falcon, the lion and the red fox, i can feel it. And...the fox, it was my father's last traces that he left behind for me. Southern has been an illusion for me for the past two days—none of it was...real."

Jimin wasn't real either.

The illusion was nothing but the hope made by the wise Fox spirit. The clever and fast witted spirit that spiraled Southern into a lively realm to give Dara hope and ambition. And Dara was sure, the fox was as wise as Zurien would ever be. The voices in her head had returned with relief but her heart ached; so she never was with her father. She never met Zurien but his spiritual image made by the fox.

South was destroyed by the Easterns a long time ago, but to Dara, it was kept a secret. Zurien had left his spirit behind before dying on his death bed after the civil war and treachery by the Easts for Dara in the Southern borders.

He died at a beautiful dawn.

So did Jimin.

"Jimin was killed at birth," Dara's eyes poured tears like a rainfall, her chin wobbled as she stared at her compass, "Everyone died. The Easterns were looking for me....they wanted to kill me, so they burned the realm when they were asleep. Arver took me away before they came."

Dara kept on mumbling and fidgeting when Seokjin asked, "Dara, are you alright?"

She snapped out at once and her spine straightened. Quickly, Dara whiped her tears and sniffed, nodding abruptly, "I am fine. I am alright—where is the Eastern Odyssey?"

She hoped that was real too.

She sighed in relief when Taehyung grabbed it out and handed it to her, still confused about her behavior. Dara snatched it and held the scroll open in her hands. She flicked her compass open, closing her eyes once again. She opened them and her golden eyes skimmed the Eastern Odyssey,

Dara grinned. Power felt so great in her hands. She had missed it.

Seokjin watched Dara trace out the letters from Odyssey, parting the different pages and suddenly, the soldiers witnessed the Odyssey's letters being extracted from it's pages as they levitated into the vacant air. The compass glowed and gleamed, creating new constellations.

And Dara heard. Every word.

She closed her eyes and opened to her forest green eyes, nodding. She grabbed the Odyssey and reluctantly gathered them together in her hands. The soldiers watched her panic, piling up the pages before she started explaining, "Taehyung brought the right thing to South. The Odyssey's answers can be found here."

"Here? In this dead place?" Seokjin murmered, helping Dara to put the pages back into the long scroll.

"Yes, here. The elf said the same. It would be found in the last realm," Dara nodded, "We need to follow the constellations to where it leads in the realm."

"Why would it be here?" Taehyung asked.

Dara looked at Taehyung and then said the words she had never been so sure of, "Slave Deborah Arossa was born here."

The air was silent.

"All her memories are here," Dara said and once again, the wind smelt like fresh wounds, but this time, of someone that lived in the past, "South has all the answers we need."

"I am coming with you—," Seokjin was cut abruptly.

"No!" Dara said, snatching the scroll from his hands, "You will wait here. And prepare for my return. The Odyssey speaks of my life, so only I will witness it."

The soldiers werent' satisfied but they had nothing else to do but step back down and obey. They weren't Jungkook, they had no guts to argue with Dara or go against her wishes. The audacity wasn't enough.

"Stay," Dara assured, "I will be back."