"Wang stop."
A couple of words resonate and all the heads swiftly turns around, wondering who imbecile has courage to intervene in sacred royal ceremony. Several ugly shades are thrown in your direction. The hall breaks down into endless whispers. King's former wife whom he locked up has come to stop his wedding. Such a rare sight. Hanyo nearly jumps out of her skin. Your sight almost paralyzes her. She's nearly at her wits' end. She wouldn't have shared her plan with you if she knew you'd appear out of where.
"Don't drink that. It's poisoned." You let out heavy pants for you had to run a long way here. Soyeon is about to rush towards you but Seokjin grabs her wrist. Taehyung minutely observes your figure without a word. Pale, skinnier and morbid. Those big dark circles under your eyes were too hard not to notice. Whereas the lady before him turns white-faced. Her legs become jelly and hands go clammy. She regains her posture before anyone can notice and composes, "Peha she's blabbering complete nonsense. She just wants to stop our marriage." Turning towards the guards, she points at you and wrathfully spits her command, "Throw her back in her cell." As guards charge towards you, taehyung raises his hand and the menials stop dead in their tracks.
"What are you doing peha? Are you really believing her? She killed your grandmother." Irritated, Hanyo spits out harsh words without a second thought and seems satisfied with her words, watching his eyes darken.
Taehyung turns towards Hanyo, he calmly speaks, "I remember everything Hanyo, who deceived me and killed my halmeoni." And for one second, Hanyo doubts that King is aware of the truth but her suspicion doesn't last long when he reaches out to hold her hands in his and passes her a small smile with words, "And I'm absolutely not believing her." Seokjin nearly feels himself puking up at the cheesy sight.
Extending the bowl of stew soup towards you, he sternly proclaims, "YN, you've five minutes to prove what you earlier said. If you prove to be right, I'll let you go but if it's just a show-up to meddle in wedding, the dark wing awaits you." Hanyo smirks proudly.
Without a second thought, you pace towards him and after snatching the bowl from his hands, chug its contents down. Hanyo internally smiles. No one would die instantly after drinking the soup. It's the same poison she has earlier used on his grandmother. She planned to kill Taehyung after marriage, or to be precise after becoming the slytherins' queen but only if she knew...
Your eyes flicker close and your body collapses. Bowl falls from your hands and shatters into crumbs on meeting the surface. Taehyung is quick to grasp you before you hit the ground. He pats your cheeks in iterative manner. Kim couple rushes towards you. As all the spotlight is solely focusing on you, Hanyo takes it as her chance and slowly backpedals, distancing herself from the crowd. Her luck betrays her especially when she needs it the most. She tries to make a run but Seokjin notices her leaving and shouts out aloud.
"Don't let her run."
And guards tackle her in the nick of time.
On the other hand, your feeble body jolts up with a cough and in the following seconds, milky white foamy liquid comes spilling out from your mouth hauling him into a funk.
"VEDIC. NOW."
Vedic rubs your right hand and Taehyung rubs your left one while a maiden assists Soyeon in rubbing your feet. Seokjin and Namjoon stand nearby. Your body has gone cold. Lips tinted in the shades of morbid blue, your heart rate continuously depletes. Vedic has forced some potions down your throat to prevent poison from spreading in entire body but it hasn't bring any outcome so far.
"The poison was taken empty stomach. We might not be able to save her." Vedic disappointingly informs looking at your motionless unconscious frame, continuing to rub your hands as an attempt to bestow some warmth to your icy-frost body.
Taehyung jolts up and rages, "What? You can't save her. Then why do you even bother to call yourself a vedic?" The anger burning his insides consumes him. He feels like gripping onto his hairs. Gritting his teeth, he admonishes, "I want her safe and sound. Do you get that?" He sits back and rubs your hand muttering hundred apologies in a single breath. He didn't expect the soup would be poisoned. Always, he perceived Hanyo wished to marry him but what he didn't know that now he isn't the one she longs to marry. Time has brought changes, several drastic changes.
"Y-yes." Is all she manages to answer with, nodding her head in fear. Slowly the pallor reigning on your body is replaced by the faint signs of life. Also, your heart beat slowly retracts to normal. The poison has ceased dissolving in the blood. As a result, your lips slightly regain their color too.
"The poison has stopped spreading for a while but the effects are temporary. We need to perform a surgery to remove the poison completely from her body." Vedic notifies and pauses right when she's about to blurt out the uncertainty of the surgery. In the end whether she'll be able to save you or not, she herself doesn't know but deems it better to stay silent considering the already extremely infuriated King. Straightaway, she takes her leave to lay the groundwork for the surgery.
"I'd wish some time alone."
And everyone files out of the room. Soyeon seems reluctant to leave your side but nonetheless walks out of the chamber and joins her husband by his side. Noticing the tears glimmering in her pearly eyes, Seokjin leans her into his warm embrace. Behind the door, there's Taehyung weeping his heart out, clutching your hand in pair of his and leaning his head against them. He pecks your hand, his tears falling. Regret gnaws up his insides. Only if he has sounded you out earlier about everything... Right now he can't help but feel miserable. He was too consumed about tormenting Hanyo that he didn't think about you. He knew, every damn single thing, but chose to stay silent just to chastise Hanyo the way she deserves.
Flashback -
The night before marriage, as he returns in his chamber there is already someone already waiting for him.
"Taehyung you are not doing right." A warning welcomes him.
"Oh Namjoon hyung. How long you've been waiting for me? Have a seat." Taehyung mutters a casual reply, intently ignoring his words but the elder seems persistent to abandon the topic this easily.
"Queen can't kill halmeoni. How can you not see her innocence?" Brows creased together, tensed folds arise on his forehead. He couldn't comprehend how taehyung who possesses an extraordinary brain and sharpest of senses could believe all this so easily. An amused chuckle escapes his lips as he lowers himself on the reclining chair and leaning his head back, answers, "Kill halmeoni, forget that, she can't even bring herself to even think about it."
"You know the real culprit. Don't you?" Namjoon looks at the younger with a lifted brow and visualizes the smirk creeping up on his lips. Taehyung lifts his hand into the air, displaying the locket he recovered from the cookhouse during his quest for clues.
"You bought it for queen." Namjoon reminds. Younger nods, eyes admiring the locket.
"But I couldn't give it to her. I gave it to someone else." After a long pause he sighs and names the owner of the jewelry, "Hanyo." Namjoon isn't bit surprised. It was expected from her. She never shared a good rapport with his grandmother anyway. Nor did the old lady agreed to let Taehyung marry her. Her hatred for his granny could be easily anticipated.
"What are you planning to do with her?" Namjoon questions. If Taehyung knows the sinner, he must have something already framed in his mind. Oscillating the locket to and fro, he answers, "Hyung, halmeoni taught me two things. First, painless death is a blessing and second and last, kill someone when they are happiest, when they have everything they want." Elder shakes his head up and down in a small nod. The old lady also taught him the same. These two principles are like the driving force of slytherin judicial system which is more ferocious and fierce than any another.
Rocking his chair back and forth, he stares vaguely at nothing in particular and after inhaling a deep breathe, adds, "Hanyo desires only two things. Me and Sex. Tomorrow I'll marry her and at night there'll be many devil spirits awaiting her on the bed. She won't have any alternate left but to accept her death while getting violated by them." What he has in store for her, startles Namjoon. Taehyung is surely brute and ruthless when it comes to afflict and scourge the felons.
"But I also drank that soup---
Quite aware of his further question, he doesn't feel the need to let him continue and is quick to interrupt him in the middle with his answer.
"You didn't die because the poison was added later. She delivered you soup first through a maid but went herself to hand it to halmeoni and before doing so she went to change her clothes. The poison was added in that interval." It was piece of cake for him. He asked the cookhouse maidens to give him detailed account of every minute event of the day and they quickly blurted out all in fear.
His finger reach out to massage his temple in slow motion. Momentarily closing his eyes, he speaks, "Tomorrow, when everyone will be busy in marriage, I want you to get YN out of the cell and tell her everything. She hasn't eaten anything from a week. Make sure she has a proper meal. I'll meet her after wedding." Taehyung lets out a pained sigh. It wrings his heart to know that you are starving yourself. Namjoon nods, his heart finally relieved. A burden has been hoisted up from his shoulders. Just as he's about to leave the chamber, taehyung chuckles,
"And hyung one more thing, prepare the first morsel tomorrow."
He smiles at the younger and with a nod, leaves the chamber.
_________
1735 words
June 17, 21
4.07K reads
5:30 pm