Rosy ashes [j.jk ff.]

e i g h t e e n

This is it, the final chapter and it's gonna be longer than you're used to, probably. Thank you for supporting me for this long and keeping your interest even through all the long breaks. I appreciate every single one of you and I'm very happy that you enjoyed the journey so far. I will write an epilogue for the story, don't worry but for now, thank you for your support. I will see you in my next story ♥

Yeri left a very agitated prince behind in the gardens while she snuck back into the castle to pack a few of her belongings into a satchel, as well as putting on warmer clothes. They had decided to depart as soon as the princess came back, rushing to Ustrina on horseback. Yeri knew how worried Jungkook was for his country and his family, so she hurriedly stuffed any piece of garment she could get her hands on into her bag. It took her only half an hour until she was back in the garden, swinging her legs over the back of the prince's horse who was already ready for departure. 

"Are we set?" Jungkook asked, his voice pressed with urgency as he looked over his shoulder at his fiancée. He looked stressed, forehead drawn together in lines of worry and lips pressed together tightly. The princess simply nodded, putting her arms around the prince's waist to hold on tight as he spurred his mare to gallop through the night, praying he wasn't too late. 

The journey was long. Yeri drifted in and out of sleep as they rushed through the chilling autumn air, her hands numb from the cold and her behind numb from the steady up and down of the horse. Jungkook, however, didn't look fatigued at all, not even after many hours of traveling. His eyes were cast straight ahead with a determined glint in the chocolate brown irises as he rushed home. 

They reached the outskirts of the kingdom at sunrise, the soft mossy underground giving way to hard cobblestone paths, pulling Yeri from her slumber once again. She looked around, noticing how eery and quiet it was. Not even a single person was out, the bakeries firmly closed without even the shimmer of a light shining through the windows. It was all very unsettling and strange. She hoped they weren't too late. 

As soon as they made it to the castle walls, Jungkook stopped his horse abruptly, pulling on the reins so harshly, the mare bucked under his body. Yeri immediately noticed what had him react like that, the banner of her family, her crest, was hanging over the balcony. "Oh no," she whimpered. She was frozen in terror but Jungkook wasn't. There was a dangerous heat emitting from him, eyes ablaze with fury just like the day they were attacked in the pavilion. He got off his horse, pulling the frozen Yeri down as well, putting her on her two feet, before charging at the open castle door. 

"You stay here" he commanded with a calm voice. Yeri bristled, stumbling after Jungkook on shaky legs, skirts held up by her hands to run faster. "What? No! I'm not going to wait out here for you to come back! This is my family, I'm going with you!" she protested, stubbornly refusing to turn back around, even when Jungkook fixed her with a serious glare. 

"I am not going in there with you. I will not even risk losing you tonight" he said, turning to face Yeri, gripping her arm, not hard enough to hurt but still bringing his point across. "And you think I can just sit here and wait for you to come back? I can't lose you either, Jungkook! Don't you think that I would be absolutely devastated as well if something happened to you?" she looked at Jungkook with worry shining in her eyes. "I love you, you stupid fire devil" she whispered. 

Jungkook gulped, opening his mouth to say something but before the words could leave his mouth, there was a relieved cry from the open castle and a bloodied Jimin stumbled out of it, tears streaming down his face as he sprinted to the pair. "My prince, you're back" he whimpered, looking at Jungkook with hope in his eyes. "I-I'ts Yoongi. He let the enemies in while everyone was sleeping" he whimpered, shame visible in his eyes.