mea rosa aurea || seongjoong || ATEEZ

Chapter 6 : The Golden Rose

There's a certain instinct that runs rampant, blocking all logic and sense from the brain, allowing the body to simply act out of vengeance and bloodshed. There is an instinct so animalistic that not even the most level-headed person could control, the anger that burns in the irises of their eyes could be a mirror image of the crackling fire that destroys all in its path.

There are things in life that trigger irritation and anger, some quicker than others, but there are those times that it's a flip of the switch. A darkened gaze with anger so deep and infused into the heart that a hole the size of a hand would appear at the chest, opening it up and peeling out all of the contents slowly but surely. There are five seconds when the disbelief hits, five excruciatingly long seconds where everything in the world stops except for the burning flames that continue to grow as it's fed by the grieving souls it consumes. One can argue that those five seconds never truly happen, that it's a figment of the imagination, and one goes straight into an irrational rage.

That irrational rage burns hotter than the very fire burning at the cloaks and skins all around it. The white and blue embers that fall from the burning wood felt cold compared to the heat of utter disbelief.

But nothing burns hotter than the anger of betrayal.

The prince had never understood what it meant to truly lose. He had lost before, whether it was an argument or a game, or anything of the sort where he did not come out at the top with all shouts of praise in his name. He knew both of victory and of loss, one usually stung more than the other but nothing was ever truly at stake in his opinion. Sure he wanted to be good in the eyes of everyone around him which only occurred after a victory, but even when he lost there wasn't a fallback so hard that left him sick and knees shaking.

Seonghwa had never been in a battle. He remembered a while ago when his father reminded him of that fact, a hefty reminder that the King had led his men into three while the prince had yet to see the dawn of one. To lose a human life was a completely different type of loss. Whether friend or foe, seeing a body that once drew breath drop to the floor with blood splattered all over the cobblestone, limp and lifeless, was something not of this world.

The young prince stood in the center of the courtyard, the fire burning in a hot circle all along the castle walls, eating at any and all wood and growing three times its size. He stood barefoot, feet burning as the cobblestone was scorching to the touch even though he could not feel just how hot it was around him no matter how much he was sweating. Seonghwa stood there with his chest heaving, no way of catching his breath as for the first time ever since the dragon fire had descended upon his kingdom the screams of death had vanished.

All of what he knew to be home and beautiful, laid ruined in one giant circle all around him. The sword he held in his hand dripped blood down to the ground, a deafening sound in his ears that not even the crackling of fire could drown out. The heart that took refuge in his chest was pounding, a pain so unusual that Seonghwa could hardly keep himself conscious as he stood as the only living soul in a courtyard filled with lifeless bodies of people he knew and people he didn't.

He could've claimed that the sword was not his- was not something he used if it wasn't for the blood that covered his hands and clothing. Dark red and brown, the colors were unmistakable against the white clothing of the thin robe he wore, it would be a lie no one would believe if he tried to beg for mercy.

It was beyond sickening, the longer the young prince looked down at the bloody sword he foolishly thought he'd never have to use, the harder it grew to breathe. As the pure adrenaline filled with the innate instinct to survive and protect wore off slowly, the prince found his body trembling in fear. When he looked around with clear eyes that were not fogged over with a red haze that claimed his judgment, he truly saw the destruction that lay before him.