A Royal Mess

Part 9

Y/n POV
He's not coming after me, is he?
I glance back & slow down my pace when I see no one behind me.
After I escaped from the room Jungkook dragged me into, my only thought was to run as fast as I could. Now that I'm a safe distance away from him, I realize that I have nowhere to go.
This is his territory. There's no way out.
What happened? Why did he become so violent all of a sudden?
Recalling the atrocious incident earlier, my body begins to shake uncontrollably. Tears prick the back of my eyes but I quickly exhale deeply to calm myself down.
Don't cry. It won't solve anything. Think. What do you need to do now?
It doesn't take me long to realize that there's nothing I can do now. It's a dead end.
Sooner or later, he's bound to find me. And when he does, that's probably when my life would end too.
"Huh.. He should've just beheaded me that day. It would save me a lot of unnecessary pain & humiliation." I scoff sarcastically.
Appa's face pops up in my head. How I wish I could see him now & tell me that everything will be fine.
I guess I will never see him again in this lifetime.
Then, another person comes to mind. Taehyung.
He's here. I can go meet him now.
A flickering candle of hope illuminates my otherwise bleak future. I straighten myself up & stride towards the garden.
At least, let me have one last moment of bliss before my life ends.
-•-
The garden is deserted when I arrive. The gardening tools are neatly stored in the shed, while Taehyung is nowhere in sight.
Has he left?
I plop down onto the bench, shoulders slumped forward in dejection.
The sound of footsteps moments later make me lift my face.
"Tae!" My eyes light up in delight as I rise from my seat & step towards him.
"Y/n? What are you doing here? Where's Jung- I mean, the prince?" He asks in surprise.
Just the mention of Jungkook's title is enough to make me flinch, but I don't want to burden Taehyung with my problem so I try my best to keep a straight face.
"Oh, he's back in his room. Anw, what are you doing? Are you planting new bulbs? Can I help you? I kinda miss working in this garden." I abruptly change the topic.
"Yeah, I'm done though. Are you sure it's alright for you to be here?" He knits his brows.
"I'm positive. Let's sit down & talk." I smile at him & walk towards the bench, but then he catches my hand & stops me.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
Then, I realize that he's staring at my back with a terrified expression.
Shit, Jungkook must have torn the dress.
"What happened?" He asks without averting his gaze from my back.
"Oh. It's nothing. Haha. I- I fell down the stairs, so-" I nervously turn my body away so that he won't be able to see my back again.
"Don't lie to me." He jerks my hand, exposing my bruised swollen wrists.
"Tae, it's nothing." I hide my hands behind my back in panic.
"Oh my God. What did he do to you?" He gasps.
"He- I-"
"Tell me." He gently cradles my cheek & stares at me with such a tender gaze that it melts all the walls I've built around my heart.
I instantly burst into tears. All my pent up anger, terror, worry, anguish flows uncontrollably out of me. Without saying a word, he pulls me into his embrace & lightly strokes my hair, letting me cry on his shoulders.
He makes me feel safe, although I know it's just an indulgent illusion. There's nothing he can do to save me.
"I'm sorry. Your shirt is soaking wet because of me." I push him away awkwardly once I've no more tears left to cry.
"That's ok. Can you tell me what happened?"  He searches my face in genuine concern.
He's my friend. I can trust him.
Thus, I take a deep breath & start to recount the traumatic experience earlier.
"That monster.." He clenches his fist & bangs the table at the end of my story.
"I still don't understand why he did that. I followed your advice & didn't do anything that could possibly anger him."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"Waiting for him to catch me, I guess. I think I'm truly done this time." A sad smile curves my lips slightly.
"What do you mean?" He looks frightened all of a sudden.
"Well, he won't forgive me for slashing his arm & slapping him. So I'm pretty sure that he'll execute me."
"No! Don't say that! I won't let that happen!" He exclaims.
"Tae, there's nothing you can do. He's the prince! We're no match for him."
"I know! You can run away through the secret door! Let's go, I'll unlock it for you." He grabs my hand & pulls me towards the door.
"No! The prince is already suspicious of our relationship. If he finds out that you help me run away, he'll kill you. On top of that, he'll definitely persecute my father too. No, I can't run away." I shake off his grip & retreat.
"So you're just going to give up?"
"I have no other choice." I shrug.
A hush descends over us. Taehyung stares at the ground, seemingly in deep thoughts.
"There's a way. I don't know if it will work or not, but I'll give it a try." He suddenly speaks.
"What? I don't understand." I look at him, confused.
"There might be a way to save you. Wait here. Don't go anywhere, ok? I'll be right back." He says before running towards the gate.
"Tae! Where are you going?" I call out but he's already gone.
What is he going to do? Ugh, I shouldn't have told him about what happened.
Worry consumes me. I bite my nails, contemplating on what to do. In the end, I make my decision.
Tae, I'm sorry but I can't let you risk his well-being because of me. Until we meet again.
I muster all my courage & walk back towards my room.