Kingdom

75.Passion & Duty (1)

 Jungkook follows Mira in silence, wishing this moment could pass as quickly as possible. He is not certain in what direction to look or what to say. His thoughts and emotions are a complete mess. On top of all this, his stomach hurts, the apples he ate must have messed him up. Too bad, because they were so tasty and he was looking forward to eating the last one, still hidden in his pocket. What a shame.

But whatever the apples, why can't time move quicker. Kook can't wait to get rid of the clothes that don't belong to him, and to go hide in his room, where he would probably spend the night banging his head into the pillow. How did he allow himself to be in so many compromising situations in one day? Kissing Lady Mira, threatening a wizard, leaving the Palace without the King's knowledge - for sure Namjoon would be proud of him...not.

Jungkook gets a few weird looks from female servants passing back. They probably think he is some rich merchant, coming here to sell fabrics to Lady Mira. Not many people know him in this Palace and that gives him some anonymity.

Yet, this is all about to change. Soon more women will come after him, as they always do. Why do ladies think he is an easy prey, Jungkook still doesn't know. There are times when he enjoys their attention but most days he wishes no one would notice him at all. No one like Lady Mira for sure.

With a single kiss she has managed to confuse him completely, making his heart uneasy and his thoughts nothing but a blur. A bitter feeling of guilt keeps bugging him, growing bigger and bigger. He is not sure what he feels guilty about? Not telling Namjoon about their little excursion today? Upsetting Lady Mira by appearing drunk in front of her rooms? Or something else, something unclear and long forgotten.

His head hurts and weird chills run through his body. One moment he is shivering from cold waves, the next he feels like vomiting. Is this some food poisoning effect? Jungkook is not sure but he really wants to crawl into his bed.

"You can leave everything in the closet." Mira says as they enter her residence. "Seems my handmaiden is still not here. You can change in peace, I will wait here."

She sits by the table, ignoring him completely. Why are women so weird? One moment they run after you, the next they kiss you and then they act as if they hate your very existence. Absolute madness....

"Is there anything you want to say to me?" Mira asks, coldly, without looking at him.

"No... not really." Jungkook mumbles.

"Then please change and leave. I don't want my handmaiden to find you here."

Fine. Whatever. She can be rude without explanation. Better this way. Better if she doesn't speak to him ever again. Jungkook cares not. He is not going to be bothered. He tried to apologize today for things he doesn't even remember, he tried to be nice, he followed her every caprice. Yet, she's still annoyed. Fine. Whatever.

Jungkook turns around and strides into the small side room that serves as a closet. He leaves the packages by the door and starts undressing. His stomach hurts again, a sharp spasm piercing his muscles and spreading down his whole body. He bends over for a moment waiting for the pain to pass. Shit! This is not good. His condition is getting worse. Jungkook needs to get out of here as soon as possible. Before vomiting all over the Lady's clothes and suffering her merciless revenge.

Kook starts to untie his clothes; his head hurts as if trapped between heavy rocks, crushing it in between their rough surfaces. His hands shake, cold waves washing all over his body. What the hell? What exactly did he eat? Pure poison? Jimin wouldn't poison him, right?

Taehyung... Would he do it? No.... He is everything but a murderer. Despite the way they parted, Tae and Kook were friends once, he wouldn't just poison him to death, would he? No, this must be Kook's upset stomach playing tricks on him.

Jungkook inhales deeply, trying to control the reactions of his body. Slowly the nausea and pain subside enough to allow him to keep undressing. But as soon as he takes the upper part of his hanbok off, the skin over his right arm starts to itch horribly. He can't control his action, starting to scratch his arm all over his shirt. Cold and hot waves take turns in shaking his body, making his mind dizzy. Something is wrong, very wrong....

"My Lady...." Jungkook cries out, his voice weak and broken. He breathes in more air trying to raise his voice. "Mira..." He sways, grabbing on a pile of fabric placed over a chest by the wall. The pile shakes and breaks apart, the fabric rolls falling over the floor with a loud clatter.

Kook's head spins, voices and images flashing in his mind. Are those dreams or visions? What is all this? What is going on? He grabs on the chest, holding for dear life. His whole body seems to be falling apart. He spits dark liquid out of his mouth, almost choking on the thick disgusting matter that fills his throat.

"Jungkook!" Mira shouts at the door and runs towards him. "Are you okay? What is going on?"

He falls to his knees, his head spinning and spinning. The world dissolves into a haste, the itching returns, together with the voices and the strange images. He senses magic - magic all around him - strong, powerful and out of control. He grabs on his shirt and tears it open, reaching underneath it to scratch on his skin.

"Stop, you are hurting yourself." He hears Mira saying. "Jungkook... please, talk to me... what is going on? I will go fetch my brother, okay?"

"No..." He grabs her hand, somehow finding it into the haze that surrounds him. "Stay with me..."

Jungkook's mind spirals into an endless whirlpool of images - seagulls flying, the waves of a storm crashing into heavy rocks, the voice of his mother telling him she will keep him safe, the distant cries of a battle, a friend calling for him from far away. Fear, despair, grief - all mix together into one overpowering emotion. Then there is softness, the touch of someone's lips, the sound of a voice so sweet and alluring. And the feeling of guilt....

"Jungkook, I have to go fetch you something. Let me go." Mira says, trying to free her hand out of Kook's tight grasp. "I have medicines and antidotes, some of those can surely help you."

Calmness, clarity, warmth. The pain is gone, the haze lifted - Jungkook sees clearly again. And he remembers... everything.

"I need no medicine." he says with a stern voice, releasing Mira's hand.

"Are you feeling better?" she says sitting down on the floor where he had collapsed. "What are you feeling exactly? What happened?"

He looks up into her eyes, his gaze cold and detached. "Those apples were enchanted."

"What apples?" Mira frowns confused. "The one you kept eating in front of Jimin's house?"

"Yes... they did something to me... they broke me apart...."

"Jungkook, you make no sense, please explain what is going on." Mira stares at him with a terrified expression, her eyes moving up and down his face as if looking for any clues to help her comprehend what had happened to the man in front of her.

"I remember." Kook says, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I remember everything I did to you."

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a/n : Hi! I had some free time these days and managed to finished a few parts of this next chapter, I will post them today/tomorrow. 

Thank you for reading! 😊