Kingdom

30. Hiding Place (8)

Yoongi jumps to his feet as soon as he sees the Princess appearing at the threshold. The tea spills all over his clothes but he doesn't notice, still holding the cup in his hands, his fingers tightening around it, his knuckles turning white.

"She was here the whole time?!" the King exclaims.

"You said you would never share this story with her." Namjoon says, slowly standing up. "I presumed you wouldn't. But I was hoping that if she knew your reasons, she might find it easier to forgive you. So I set this up."

Nori is looking down at her feet, hiding her face. The ribbon that ties her dress is wrinkled and almost untied, damaged by being pulled and twisted excessively. She doesn't move or speak but remains motionless in place. Only thanks to the wind catching up her dress and lifting up its edges, one can assume the Princess is made of flesh and not of stone. Yet, the King is convinced that soon Nori will come back to her senses and attack him with harsh words. He knows that nothing can sway the Princess's determination to hate him forever.

"Look at her, she will never forgive me." he says, pointing at the Princess with a quick gesture. "She says my reasons are excuses and that I enjoy inflicting pain."

Nori ignores the King completely and turns to face her brother.

"Namjoon, I appreciate your desire to help me," she says with a monotonous, cold voice, "but please, never put me in such a situation again. Never discuss my past and my struggles with this man. I am sure you have plenty of other topics to talk about - politics, history, art, whatever you like. Leave me and my problems out of your discussions."

Namjoon's face darkens, discouraged by the coldness in his sister's words.

"Nori, I only wish you to ... "

"I know." the Princess says, interrupting her brother sharply. "You want me to be happy. But I am not a child you need to protect anymore. If I want to communicate something to this person, I will do it myself."

"Princess, you are a hypocrite." Yoongi scoffs.

"Excuse me!?" she snarls, turning to glare at the King.

"On our wedding night you told me I should open up more, that I shouldn't hide in my closet. But look at yourself now, hiding your own weaknesses, acting like your pains are too big, too personal and too hard for others to understand. Locking even your precious brother out of your hiding place. After years of being your closest friend, he must have felt helpless when you pushed him away. So desperate that he even agreed to marry you to me."

"You know nothing about my relationship with my brother." Nori snaps, abruptly taking a step towards the King, her hands closing into fists. "And yes, all your reasons are excuses. You think you did all you could to stop the curse? Are you sure the fire was the only way to destroy that magic!? Taking advice from a Dark Witch can only lead to disaster. But maybe you didn't really care. Burning everything is an easy solution and a great excuse to play seek and destroy. Did you have fun!?"

Yoongi's eyes lit with fire, his jaw tenses.

"I didn't WANT to burn those villages but I HAD to do it." he exclaims, smashing the teacup into the ground "Was it the best decision? I don't know! Was it my fault? I don't know. Giving the order to kill the soldiers who took the fairy, was I the one at fault? Or was it your step-father who sent them to steal? Whose fault is it? Who is the murderer? What is good or bad, right or wrong? I had no time for those questions and for moral dilemmas. I did what I had to do."

"I hate you!" Nori shouts out, darting forward, continuously hitting the King's chest with her fist. "I don't care about your reasons and excuses. You destroyed everything. I can never get that place back!"