A Royal Mess

Part 24

Weeks passed in a blink of an eye.
The day of my wedding has finally come.
I had dreamt & written about this day more than a hundred times. Getting married to a prince used to be my utmost happy ending.
After I met Lord Freedom in the woods that night, he became my prince, the male lead in my scenarios.
What if he's a prince who was on a secret mission? What if he fell in love with me & come back to find me? What if he ask for my hand in marriage?
And every single time, my imagination would end with me being beyond ecstatic & not able to wait to spend the rest of my life with my knight in shining armor.
Nevertheless, now that my dream has truly become my reality, I feel no joy. Only anxiety & fear.
How I wish that my dream had never come true.
"Oh dear, you look absolutely stunning!" Jungah's remark pulls me out of my thoughts.
"Thank you." I smile faintly at her & look at my reflection in the mirror.
I can hardly recognize the woman wearing the ivory lace wedding dress in front of me. Her eyes are dull & empty. Her face looks gaunt despite the heavy make up. She doesn't resemble me at all. Or I should say, the old me.
"One more thing. Let's take this off." Jungah reaches for the clasps of my mother's necklace which hangs around my neck.
"Don't!" I clutch the pendant tightly & dodge her.
"But it doesn't match your dress! Besides, it looks so old & ugly. I have prepared a much better necklace for you."
"Please don't ask me to take it off. It's my mother's & I really want to wear it on the most important day of my life. I can tuck it under the dress so no one would see it."
"Huh.. Fine." Jungah rolls her eyes & steps away, visibly annoyed, but I choose to ignore her.
The pendant feels cool in my hand. I rub my thumb over it, tracing the crescent moon shape, & close my eyes.
Eomma, I don't know if I've made the right decision, but I hope that you'll protect me as you always have.
My prayer is cut short by the sound of door creaking open. I open my eyes & see Jungkook walk in. He has finished dressing up too & is looking very handsome in his royal suit. Yet, I feel nothing.
"Orabeoni! You can't be here! It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!" Jungah exclaims.
"Hah! I don't believe in superstitions. Oh my God.." Jungkook widens his eyes & gapes when he sees me.
"Your Royal Highness." I courteously curtsy.
"You literally took my breath away." He sighs as he gently glides his forefinger over my cheek.
"Thank you. What brings you here? Isn't the ceremony starting soon?"
"I'm here to give you a surprise." He grins cheekily, showing me a glimpse of the old mischievous Jungkook.
"A surprise?"
"Yes. I'm sure you'll love it." He walks back to the door & pulls it open.

My jaw drops to the floor & tears well in my eyes as soon as I see the surprise.
"Appa!" I rush towards him & throw myself into his arms.
"Y/n ah. My dear daughter. I missed you so much." He sobs.
All my pent-up emotions explode into rivers of tears. I hug him tighter, afraid that he'll disappear if I loosen my grip.
"Appa, have you been well? You lost so much weight. You must haven't been eating well. How did you get here? When did you arrive?"
"I arrived this morning. Someone from the palace picked me up from the village under His Royal Highness' order. Oh my dear daughter, I'm so happy to see you again. I thought- I thought that I'd never see you ever again in this lifetime." He explains while wiping away his tears.
"Me too, Appa. Me too." Just the fact that I can call him again makes me smile.
"Do you like the surprise?" Jungkook approaches us & asks.
"Yes. Very much. Thank you for doing this, from the bottom of my heart." I look up at him, utterly touched by his thoughtfulness.
"Don't mention it. I'll do anything to make you happy. Your father is welcome to stay at the palace as long as he wants." He says as he puts a strand of loose hair behind my ear.
I catch a glimpse of the thin gold chain with the star pendant around his wrist, once again reminding me that he is Lord Freedom.
"You're wearing it?" I glide my thumb over the bracelet, feeling its texture on my skin.
"Oh, this? It's what made you say yes to my proposal so I thought I should wear it today." He grins.
"Now now now. Let the bride get ready, ok? The ceremony is about to start. We can't keep the guests waiting." Jungah squeezes in between us & pushes Jungkook towards the door.
"I'll see you soon, Y/n ah." He winks at me, grinning, as he walks out of the room.
My heart swells with gratitude towards him. Never had I ever thought that he would bring Appa back to the palace for me.
Then, I recall my prayer earlier & place my palm over the pendant underneath my dress.
Eomma, is this your way of answering my prayer? I asked for protection & Appa magically appeared in front of me. Thank you, Eomma. Please continue to give me courage to step towards the future.
"Appa, would you walk me down the aisle?" I turn to him & ask.
"Of course! If that's ok.." He glances nervously at Jungah.
"Absolutely not! Your appearance wasn't on the agenda, so we can't just add you to the ceremony." Jungah rolls her eyes & crosses her arms.
"But Your Highness-" I begin to protest, but she raises her palm & stops me.
"My decision is final." She sternly says.
I've barely opened my mouth to persuade her when I feel Appa's touch on my arm.
"That's alright, Y/n ah. I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines." He smiles understandingly.
"Appa.."
"Don't worry about me. What matters the most to me is that you're happy. Are you?" He cups my cheeks & asks.
Am I happy? No, I'm not. But after Jungkook's last-minute kind gesture, I'm hopeful that one day I will be. Maybe time will ease my regrets & guilts towards Taehyung, and all that remain will be beautiful memories of us in the secret garden. Maybe my feelings for Jungkook will grow. Maybe, one day, I'll be able to make peace with his dark past.
I chose this path myself & there's no option other than keep walking on. So, I lift my chin & plasters my brightest smile on my lips.
"I am. The King is a good man. I'm sure that he'll take care of me."
"I was quite skeptical when I heard the news of your engagement because of our past incident with the Royal Prince- I mean, the King. But then after I met him again, I noticed that he was no longer the pompous Prince I remembered. He's changed, in a good way. He even apologized for his mistreatment towards me. I couldn't believe my ears! Now that I saw the way he looked at you, I realized that you were the one who changed him. He changed because he loves you. I believe with you by his side, he'll be a good king to his people." Appa squeezes my hands & says.
"I hope so, Appa. I truly hope so." I reply.
"Alright, enough with the sappy talk. We need to move now. Y/n's father, please leave & sit with the other guests in the hall." Jungah smilingly says to Appa, yet her smile doesn't reach her eyes.
Her attitude is quite out of the ordinary. Usually, she always puts on her sweetest mask in front of other people. However, today, her true colors are seeping out under her slipping mask.
Once she's sent Appa out, she comes closer to give me a hug.
"Good luck, my dear sister in law. Enjoy your glorious moment while you can." She whispers.
That's such an odd congratulatory message to say, but the door to the wedding hall is opened right away so I don't have time to ponder upon it.
The hall is decorated with so many fresh flowers that it looks & smells like a real garden. The scene instantly reminds me of Taehyung, of his surprised gaze during our first encounter in the secret garden, of the blissful time I spent with him surrounded by the blooms. The memory is so vivid that it feels as if I will see him if I just turn my head & look close enough through the flowers.
But I know that it's impossible. He's gone. Forever.
Sorrow flushes over me like waves, drowning me, suffocating me. I quickly lower my head & choke back my tears because I know that everyone's eyes are on me.
I take a deep breath & lift my head back up. Jungkook is standing in front of the altar at the opposite end of the room, waiting for me.
I carefully lift my foot & take my first step down the aisle. The crowd "ooh"s & "aah"s as I slowly make my way towards my groom. Then, my gaze meets Appa's. He's lightly waving at me, tears brimming in his eyes. The man who's sitting next to him nods at me too.
He looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?
"You alright?" Jungkook asks as soon as he takes my hand.
"I am." I force a flat smile & answer.
"Have I told you that you look absolutely breathtaking?" He brings my hand to his lips & kisses it tenderly.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness." I nod while squirming inwardly at his public display of affection.
Silence falls upon the crowd as the priest starts the ceremony. Soon, it's time for us to say our vows. My heart pounds heavily in my ears as I wait for my turn to speak.
"Do you, Your Royal Highness Jungkook, take this woman Y/n to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?" The priest asks.
"I do." Jungkook replies firmly.
The priest then turns to me & my heart feels like it's about to come out of my mouth.
"Do you Y/n take this man, His Royal Highness Jungkook, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?"
I gulp down my saliva, all my nerves flaring up.
Am I really going to do this? Do I have to?
Sensing my silence, Jungkook nudges me with his elbow.
"Y/n ah, it's your turn." He whispers.
There's no turning back. I have to go on.
I clench my fists tightly & open my mouth.
"Yes, I-"
The sound of door bursting open, followed by loud shrieking from the crowd, cuts my sentence off. Jungkook & I abruptly turn around to see what's going on. The scene before me shocks me to the core.
Dozens of armed men donning black masks storm into the hall & start attacking the guards.
"What the hell is happening?" Jungkook gasps.
"W-Who are those men?" I stutter, too petrified to move.
There are actually more guards than the intruders, but they are so skillful with swords that the guards can't hold them back.
"We should leave." Jungkook quickly grabs a sword from a nearby standing guard & pulls me towards the exit.
"But what about Appa?!" I exclaim.
"Your Royal Highness! This way!" The man who was sitting with Appa earlier calls out to us.
"Chief Kang! What's going on? Who are those men?" Jungkook asks.
"I have no idea. We need to escape first. Let's go." He guides us to a small hidden door at the side of the room & opens it.
The door leads to a long & narrow corridor, which the servants & maids usually use to exit & enter the hall.
"What about Jungah & Y/n's father?"
"Don't worry. They're safe." He says as he closes the door behind us.
"Let's go Y/n ah." Jungkook grabs my hand & runs, but then his feet screech to a halt not long after.
Someone wearing a black mask is standing a few feet ahead of us with a gleaming sword in his hand.
"Stand back." Jungkook whispers to me & wields his sword.
"B-Be careful." I stammer, completely terrified.
The masked man sprints towards us & swings his sword at Jungkook. The two of them engage in a heated duel until the masked man manages to disarm Jungkook & points the tip of his sword at Jungkook's neck.
"Who are you? What do you want?! You won't be able to escape if you hurt us. My guards are on their way here & you'll be dead when they arrive." Jungkook growls.
I'm still searching for anything that can be used as a weapon when the masked man starts speaking.
"You're still arrogant as ever even when your life is under my mercy, aren't you?"
My blood freezes instantly.
That voice.. No way.. Lord Freedom?
My eyes are fixated on him as he pulls down his mask.
"Y-You? But how- You're dead!" Jungkook exclaims.
"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm not. And I'm coming back to take what's mine." The man leans down & snatches the bracelet from Jungkook's wrist.
That's when my knees give out. Not only is Taehyung alive & breathing, but he also turns out to be the real Lord Freedom.