A SEALED FATE: Emeralds and Blood (BTS)

We Meet Again

You stared dumbly down at your plate of now cold food. Your morning had been hellish already, and the last thing on your mind was your fancy breakfast meats and ripe fruit. Of all the people who you had been expecting, Alice, Sanria and Iseul were at the bottom of your list.

Yoongi had given you the impression that Alice would be in the dungeons for a very long time, forced to endure Taehyung and his constant torture. Hoseok had made you believe that he had killed Sanria instead of just imprisoning her, while Iseul had completely slipped from your mind.

What blew your mind even more, however, was that all three of them had been lacking tongues. Maybe it didn't bother you so much with Sanria and Iseul, since they had treated you quite badly. Their well-being wasn't your biggest concern at the moment.

Alice, though? Your heart was impossibly heavy. The poor girl not only lost her parents and her partner, but she also lost her tongue and even some of her fingers. It was all your fault too. You wished that you could turn back time, to go back to the pretty blue library to accept Hoseok's feelings. You would have been unhappy, yes, but at least the deaths would have stopped at Lady Pyke.

What was even worse was that you weren't even able to communicate with your friend through writing. Hoseok had forbid Alice from writing. Isabella had informed you that it was part of your punishment, that apparently you weren't allowed to have any type of two-sided conversations with Alice until you had shown him that you were truly sorry for running off.

If you broke this rule, then he wouldn't harm you. Instead, he would give Alice a long and cruel death, something that you wanted to avoid at all costs. You were desperate to know what Alice was thinking however, so after Isabella had left with Sanria and Iseul, you had scrounged your room for any spare piece of parchment. There was nothing, however. Hoseok had thought ahead.

Alice was surprisingly stiff and dull when you tried to sit her down on the edge of your bed so that you could talk to her. She silently insisted on standing, and at a distance too. You were unable to tell if it was because she was scared of breaking a rule and getting punished for it, or if it was because she was upset with you.

You tried not to let it get to you as you apologized to her over and over again. Before she left to go find Isabella, you handed her a book that you had discovered the day before. You were unsure of the plot, but you thought that the cover was quite beautiful. You knew that a pretty book would never make up for what you had caused, but you hoped that it could distract her from the pain that she was no doubt feeling.

Shortly after she left, Isabella had returned to your room to inform you that you were set to have lunch with Hoseok. When you began to panic, she sat you down and gave you another speech about persevering. If you could manage to play along and do what you had to, then you could maybe give Alice a better life. A small way of making it up to her. You could send her to Joseph and Ruby, who would no doubt take care of her.

That was your motivation to behave. You had to give Alice a chance to be happy. She needed what was left of her family, she needed to be at home. Not in an evil castle surrounded by malicious princes. If you had to suck it up until you were able to utilize your potion, then you would. You just needed to do something to atone for what you had caused.

Isabella had then left you by yourself so she could prepare the old sitting room for a lunch setting that was up to a prince's standards. She said she would send one of your three new maids back in to help you dress shortly before noon, and promised to lecture you harshly if she found out that you hadn't eaten a single bite if your food.

That had been hours ago. The large clock resting against the wall told you that it was almost time for a maid to arrive. Your appetite was still gone, yet you didn't want to receive a lecture from Isabella. You picked up your plate and opened the window. You tossed the food down without a second thought. No one would be wandering around outside until spring, and by then the food would be long gone.