The Prisoner of Oryn

8. Overwhelmed

"Food" a guard announced and threw food into the 'dog bowls' of each cell. If a cell had two people, the two of them had to eat from the same bowl. The food that they threw into their bowls reeked of fungus. 

Taehyung was sure they threw spoiled food on purpose. They didn't want to eat it, but they had no other option, either. 

For the first time in three days, Taehyung considered letting the tears in his eyes cross their boundaries. But he put the thought down before it could even complete itself. He couldn't let the guards and the other prisoners see him cry. 

He looked up and tried to blink them away before he got overwhelmed, but everything was already too overwhelming for him. The incident with Sir Jung a few minutes ago in his tent was still fresh in his mind. His hands still trembled from the shock of having a sword struck at their throats. 

The sight of the deep cut on Jimin's neck still broke his heart. The fact that they were in the ocean for god knows how long and the fact that the salty water must have hurt a lot brought more tears to his eyes. 

"Taehyung-ah...." Jimin whispered once he noticed Taehyung's efforts to control his tears. And that was it for Taehyung. Taehyung's features scrunched up painfully and he choked out a sob. After that, no matter how hard he tried, none of the tears or sobs stayed inside him anymore. 

He reached out to Jimin and let his head fall onto Jimin's shoulders. His tears brought tears to Jimin's eyes as well. Neither of them uttered any words. They just cried. Somehow, their sobs wrenched the hearts of the guards standing outside their cells as well.

The guards had their own suspicions too. These boys looked too delicate and innocent to be spies for such a huge Kingdom. 

Alyndus wasn't a joke. It was a huge Kingdom, ruled by a powerful, mighty and wicked King. The Queen, Seo Hyojoo, was just as wicked and power-greedy as the King, Seo Dae Shin. The army of that Kingdom wasn't a joke either. 

Not that Oryn was any less powerful, but Oryn was barely managing to win the war. This war was important. If Oryn lost this war, the King of Oryn would have to bow down to the King of Alyndus and vice versa. 

After numerous battles between the two Kingdoms and countless numbers of undecided outcomes, they had come to an agreement to have one final war that would decide the King for both the Kingdoms together. 

Thus, the guards knew that the Kingdom wouldn't send such weak boys to spy on Oryn. 

After watching them cry onto each others' shoulders for another few minutes, one of the guards finally felt bad for them and decided to go to Sir Jung as they weren't allowed to go into the cells of the prisoners without the permission of the Head Jailor. 

Sir Jung, who was having a conversation with the King and the second Prince, sent the guard back to the dungeons without the permission to enter their cell. Thus, the guards just had to wait outside their cell and listen to their heartbreaking sobs. 

Taehyung and Jimin didn't mind the guards. They didn't care about how weak they looked to other prisoners. They didn't care about how loud they were. They just cried their hearts out. 

They just wanted to do research, for god's sake! They didn't want to settle in Oryn. They wanted to submit a paper on Jeon Jeongguk and become Dr. Kim Taehyung and Dr. Park Jimin. Not war prisoners Kim Taehyung and Park Jimin. 

The more they thought about their situation, the more they cried, without noticing the man who was standing right outside their cell with a grim expression on his face. 

The man had shushed the guards before they could warn the prisoners of his arrival. He wanted to see how much of the information from Hoseok on their innocence was true.

The fact that they were crying, when crying was the most unmanly thing a man could ever do, was proof enough for him to conclude that they were indeed innocent. 

He turned back and gave Namjoon and Hoseok a nod. They walked forward and stood next to him. Jeongguk was just about to ask the guards to keep a close eye on them until that night, when a distant sound of a trumpet notified them of the start of the fight for the day. 

He ordered the guards to watch their behaviour carefully and turned to Namjoon, who was still staring at Taehyung and Jimin, who had finally noticed their presence and had scrambled backwards in their cell until their backs hit the wall. 

"I will talk to the first Prince after sunset" Jeongguk said. Namjoon's expression, which had been sympathetic until then, turned impassive within milliseconds. Jeongguk sighed sadly and looked at Hoseok, who shook his head subtly with a small frown on his face. 

Jeongguk sighed again and turned to the guards. "Notify the Advisor about it" he said. "Yes, Your Majesty" the guards said and bowed down to him. 

"Let's go now, Your Majesty. The battle has started" Hoseok said. "Yes. Let's go" Jeongguk said and walked out of the dungeons with the Head Jailor and the General right behind him. 

Taehyung and Jimin released the breath that they had been holding until then and looked at each other sadly. 

"Let's just eat" Taehyung whispered, when Jimin's stomach growled loudly. "Yeah" Jimin whispered back and they crawled towards the dog bowl that they had to share their spoiled food from. 

"Is there any way for us to go back?" Taehyung whispered, keeping in mind that there were guards outside their cell. 

"How can we? We are in Korea right now and there are no flights in this century. It is impossible for us to reach the Bermuda Triangle. And even if we do reach it, what's the guarantee that we land back in the 21st century?" Jimin asked. 

"Right. So is this it? We gotta live the rest of our lives here? As war prisoners?" Taehyung asked. "Yeah" Jimin sighed sadly and proceeded to stretch his neck out of frustration. 

"JIMINIE!!" Taehyung yelled the second Jimin bared his neck, making him and the guards outside their cell jump out of their skin. "What?!" Jimin whispered, with eyes as big as tennis balls. 

"Where the fuck did your gash go?!" Taehyung whispered.