✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
"What are you doing?" Jaegeun asked watching as the woman slowly retracted her hand.
"N-nothing." Nari had paled and closed the glass bottle.
Angrily the King approached the woman and grabbed her wrist. "What the hell were you pouring into my cup?"
"I wasn't pouring anythin-"
"Drink it."
"I-I-"
"Drink the damn cup Nari."
"Why would you- I didn't do-"
With his free hand, the King grabbed the wine glass and struggled to bring it to Nari's lips. The Queen wrestled with the man, wine from the cup sloshing around and falling out of the glass.
With a burst of strength, Nari released her wrist and pushed the cup out of the King's hand, forcing it to fall to the floor and shatter.
"You're trying to kill me." Jaegeun confirmed with himself.
"I-I'm not!" Nari threw the glass vase on the ground and let it shatter at her feet.
Jaegeun scoffed.
"I'll have you executed for this-"
"What?!"
"Don't be fucking stupid Nari. I've had a few eyes watching you all day." The King wrapped a hand around the woman's throat."Do you really think I don't know you?" Jaegeun tilted his head with a smirk.
Nari's hands shot up to her throat, trying to desparately claw Jaegeun's hand off of her neck.
"We've been together for over thirty years Nari. Here I was thinking you loved me." Jaegeun spoke.
"After all this time? When you've cheated on me, and ignored my daughters? You expect me to love you back Jaegeun?" The Queen spoke back with an agitated tone. Even while choking, she still managed to display her displeasure with the man she had married.
"Give it a rest. They're their own people. The only thing you should care about is yourself."
Nari's face took on a deep red hue and Jaegeun, feeling some sense of empathy, lessened his grip around her neck.
Nari took a deep breath and felt fresh air refill her lungs. "I..I hate you." She murmured.
"..Hm.. I can't say the feeling is mutual. But I will say.. to me, Wooyoung was always more important than you."
Nari grimaced. "You always had just one goal. What if I had never given birth to a son?"
"I would have made divorce legal to find a woman who could." Jaegeun spoke. "Now.. back to the main situation." Jaegeun motioned for a knight to detain the woman.
"It's a shame things had to come to this Nari."
"In a way.. I'm glad it's all over.. I can only hope that Jieun and Sieun have the chance to escape. And at least.. death by execution is painless."
At that, the King laughed,"Do you really think I'd let you die a quick and painless death Nari? For threatening my own life? You'll be in the dungeon for a few days receiving endless torture.. and then.. maybe after that.. I'll have you burned at a stake.. or crucified. Whichever I think suits you better."
The woman's jaw dropped in fear.
I should have left the glass in one piece.. at least that death would have been painless.
･:*:･
"Don't you want to pack your items and take them with you?" San asked and Wooyoung shook his head frantically.
"I just need to get back home, there's no time for me to be picking and sorting through clothing." Wooyoung spoke dazedly, as he and San prepared a bag for the road home. "I just.. feel like something bad is going to happen. I-I don't have t-time. I n-need to b-be-"
"Wooyoungie calm down." San placed his hands on the anxious prince's shoulders to soothe the male.
"I c-can't-" San slid his hands down to grab the prince's hands.
"Wooyoungie hey.. hey calm down."
Wooyoung sniffled and looked down.
"Love.."
"I-I'm sorry." Wooyoung felt tears slip down his face carefully. The droplets rolling down his cheeks slowly and dripping on to the carpeted floor beneath their feet.
"No it's okay, things are very overwhelming. It's been really difficult for us all this time Youngie.. It's understandable that you feel like this." San spoke with the intention of comforting the prince.
Wooyoung hiccuped and nodded before moving forward and burying his face in San's chest.
"It's going to be okay." San promised and Wooyoung responded by wrapping his arms around the knight and hugging him closely.
Seonghwa opened the door, "Alright so I got- Oh. Do you guys need a moment?"
"N-no. We don't have that much time." Wooyoung pulled away from San and wiped his eyes.
"Alright.. well.. we've put together a carriage with our fastest horses as well as the horse you brought with you, and a driver who doesn't mind not sleeping for one night." Seonghwa spoke with unease.
"Thank you." Wooyoung sniffled.
Hongjoong peeked into the room, grabbing onto Seonghwa's arm. "I've put together the proper food for the trip."
"Thank you peach." Seonghwa spoke causing the male to blush.
Wooyoung grabbed the bag that he and San packed together, "We'll be leaving now. Thank you so much Seonghwa, we are forever indebted to you. And you as well Hongjoong." Wooyoung spoke.
San nodded,"I hope we meet again soon." The Knight grabbed Wooyoung's hand and the two of them walked past the curious and surprised eyes of the staff to the carriage prepared for them.
The driver looked at the couple in surprise. He didn't know he would be driving the missing prince and his kidnapper knight.
"Ugh, he didn't kidnap me. Please take us back to the Jung Kingdom." Wooyoung spoke, sniffling and getting inside the carriage with San.
The man nodded, still feeling confusion and nudging the horse so it would start moving them towards the castle.
･:*:･
Nari sat slumped against the wall tiredly in the dungeon of the castle. It had been two days and the woman had lost all will to live.
She hadn't eaten proper food, and as a result couldn't get back any of the energy she had lost. Tiredly she looked up as a knight entered the dungeon.
She hoped it was food but she knew it wouldn't be.
"The King has decided upon your punishment."
"What? What is it now?" The tired woman groaned softly.
"He's decided to spare you."
The woman looked up at the knight in confusion.
"As in.. execution. Not a hanging, nor a crucifixion." The knight opened her cell door and the woman watched as he unlocked her wrist restraints.
Nari was pulled out of the cell and forced to walk barefoot out of the castle and towards the public disciplinary area.
･:*:･
《Trigger Warning: Death》
"Wooyoungie? Wake up. We're here." The prince woke up and immediately became alert.
"Let's go inside." Wooyoung spoke and San grabbed their bag, leading the prince into the castle only to see that the amount of guards present was much less than usual.
"..What the hell is going on?" San murmured, cautiously taking the prince into the knight's quarters to find a spare room.
The two males were stopped by Mingi. "You're back? Why did you come back?"
"Yeona." Wooyoung spoke sadly.
Mingi nodded before remembering what he had to say,"Wooyoung you're mother is about to be executed!"
"What?!" The prince exclaimed in confusion and Mingi pulled both San and Wooyoung to the public execution area.
Hundreds of citizens gathered around curiously to see the proceeding and huge waves of shock spread over the crowd when they realized the woman standing there in disheveled clothing was the prior Queen.
Wooyoung gasped seeing his mother up there. He didn't like her in the slightest, but he never anticipated that the woman would be executed.
The King stood near the rope of the guillotine and listened as a servant spoke.
"Jung Nari, her maiden name, Hae Nari, is being executed for crime of attempting to murder the King."
Wooyoung watched the scene. Why would she try and murder him..?
San bit his lip nervously and continued to look at the prince's unreadable face.
"Thus, the King will be taking her life away, for her attempting to take his."
The King untied the rope and right as the blade was coming down, San pulled Wooyoung closer to him, forcefully turning the prince around and pressing the male's face to his chest.
"San.."
"Let's go back to the castle. We're still missing people." San gulped and looked away from the unsightly image. He knew Wooyoung would have nightmares over it and he didn't want the male to suffer.
"For tonight, we sleep in the knight's quarters."
"Alright." Wooyoung murmured dazedly.
His mother was dead, and everyone had seen her death before their very eyes.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Yeah.. she is dead. Also omg 7 chapters left.. 😳