(Chapter 35)
It all comes down to this

~*~
Author POV

Location: Batia

They got the summons 2 days later, the King of Batia called attendance of all the kingdom's leaders. They listened, 14 rulers and 7 heirs.

The tension in the room was palpable, so thick one could cut it cleanly with a knife.

It was like they all knew the meaning of the meeting before words had been spoken. In truth they all did, one commoner who had found a knife and knew too much allowed them the knowledge.

"I have called you all here today on a severe matter" King Anwir of Batia declared.

"What may that be?" Ondine inquired, Kador were often the logical diplomats, they represented their kingdom with fairness and candor. 

"A declaration of war" King Anwir responded, his voice carrying throughout the silent hall.

"On what account?" Theoros asked, though they all knew.

"The Prince of Aureathen murdered a dear friend of mine, not 2 days ago" Anwir pointed to the trembling Taehyung.

"And do you have proof to back your allegation" This time Lumi spoke, standing in front of her son, her husband Lixue coming to stand behind the prince, protecting him from all sides. The shift was subtle but Taehyung felt better knowing they were willing to protect him.

"A dagger was found at the scene, covered in the blood of my friend. The blade matches to the set your son carries" Anwir spoke, his wife, Enyo, shifted uncomfortably at his side.

"I want to see the dagger" Lumi stretched out her hand.

Anwir waved his hand to a servant, who appeared by his side with a plain box.

"That is not my son's knife" Lumi spoke confidently.

"I don't understand, it is of Aureathen make" Anwir sounded borderline angry, like he was struggling to contain himself.

"Aureathen blades are unique and contain runes upon the blades, impossible to replicate. This is a fake" Lumi's eyes hardened as she cast them over the King of Batia.

"I have all my daggers" Taehyung backed up his mother, showing all the sheathes on his belt filled with a weapon. 

Anwir's upper lip trembled with barely contained anger, before it settled into something cold and cruel.

"Well it seems you saw through me" his voice dripped with venomous malice.

That tone had everyone on edge, those who carried weapons on themselves, reaching for the hilts. 

"Fire" was all Anwir said before he reclined back in his gilded throne. 

All of a sudden at his command dozens of arrows shot down at the 6 royal families.

They were barely able to duck and avoid the ambush of arrows. The Norusian royalty lifted their bows to retaliate against the archers. Accurately aiming to bring them down in an effective manner.

"We must get out of here" Balgeum, Queen of Voucaea announced.

The royalty rushed for the doors to make their escape. The doors were sealed, they were trapped, hands coming to slam uselessly at the thick wooden doors designed to protect the room during a siege. 

"Here" a voice called out to them.

They turned their head at a familiar voice.

~*~

Jimin had been working inside the palace, the bakery was still providing food for the next feast to be held that evening. He had gotten a break, so was wandering the halls, gazing upon the fine tapestries and artwork lining the walls of the hallway.

He found himself retracing his steps, the ones he had taken meeting Taehyung, subconsciously walking to the hall, lost in the memory. Like he was waiting for Taehyung to show up and then walk to the hall to see Claeg. The memory was so fresh in his mind.

The hallway was empty of servants, so he lent his head against the servants entrance to the great hall of the King. He frowned, he could hear the sounds of fighting, the occasional gut wrenching scream.

He pulled open the servants door, through the crack he saw an arrow fly and hit the main entrance door, where 6 of the royal families were huddled in a protective circle, they were fighting back. 

Before he comprehended the word coming from his mouth he was calling out to them.

"Here!" his voice carried.

From that moment he had 18 members of royal families careening towards him. They ran, he opened the door wide allowing them to rush past him. He ran along with them, leading them through the servants passages towards the exit. 

He could hear the sound of footsteps following them. In that moment he realised, he had saved 18 lives and now he had gotten himself involved, the guards had seen his face. He was implicated, so now he ran for his own life as well.

But unlike the people following him they had other kingdoms to run too, he didn't he lived in the kingdom which he had just betrayed.

But he continued to run, he didn't regret his decision. If he doubted it, then it would be his ruin and destruction. So he continued to lead the pack through the corridors, Batian guards close on their tail. 

They reached a straight piece of corridor, the arrows began to wiz past them, some closer to their targets than others. Jimin felt one graze his cheek, blood pouring down it like a mini waterfall.

He heard a shout of pain, he could barely turn around to look, someone had an arrow protruding from their shoulder, but they continued to run. Yoongi stopped to fire some more arrows back, Jimin could hear the screams as the arrows connected with their intended targets.

A gut wrenching scream vibrated through the stone corridor, it was one of true pain. 

The sounds of footsteps were deafening, it felt like all the noise of the room was dulled. Adrenaline surging through veins, a powerful motivator.

The sounds of bodies slumping to the floor, weapons clattering as they dropped. Someone was crying.

Screams of pain and anguish.

When Jimin turned to pull the final door open, all he could see when he looked was pure carnage.

Blood was coating the stone floor like a rug, spilling from bodies, some still standing, others lying motionless against the unyielding floor. 

The arrows clattered against the wall beside his head, barely missing their target.

In that moment he had never felt so powerless as the blood ran across the floor staining the material of his boots red.

~*~

So who do you think got shot, most of them did.

What do you think is coming next?

Funfact:
Voucaea has the worst army out of the 7 kingdoms. They rely mostly on the land to prevent enemies from attacking. The lakes are hard to navigate without a local

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Bye,
Winter