Trials of the Good and Evil

CHAPTER TEN: DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

Jisoo woke up on her fancy bed's royal mattress. She quickly got up. "How did I end up here?" She muttered.

"You fainted." Kim Seokjin said, who was sitting by her bedside while reading a novel. He continued to flip the book pages as soon as he was done reading, word by word.

Jisoo frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I must know if my kingdom's future Queen is in good hands." He said. "And you danced with that villain. You know how risky that was. Anyway, it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon." He pointed at his watch, "You woke up really late."

"What's wrong with me dancing Taehyung?" Jisoo changed the topic and asked the prince as she jumped out of the bed.

"So it's a first-name basis now, huh?" Jin sighed. "A villain and a royal must not get along. You shouldn't involve yourself with him. You never know, he might be our fairytale rival." He closed his book and went to pour some hot lemon drink, "As a matter of fact, our fates are cursed. They have the upper hand right now."

Jisoo scoffed. "I was alone at the ballroom! With no prince to dance!"

"So you danced with a villain?" He contradicted her. Jin aggressively put down the teapot.

Jisoo was startled by the clanking sound it made. The princess gulped. "You weren't there to begin with!" She raised her voice a little.

"Then you could've find me! I was just around the ballroom!" Jin answered back.

"A princess isn't required to find her prince just to dance with her." The princess had her chin up.

"The more she isn't allowed to dance with a villain-" Jin sighed as he heard a knock from the door. "Who is it?"

Princess Jennie slowly opened the door and poked her head in the small space she opened. "Uh..hey. It was just that we can hear your quarrels outside. I know LQ's good for a relationship but...the others are gossiping about you two." Jennie grimaced as she saw the two just staring at her. "Uhm...okay..I get it. I'm out of here- You know what? Just pretend that I didn't come here-" She said as she tightly closed the door.

Jisoo sighed. "I-I don't really get it." She started once again. "Taehyung's your friend and...yet you treat him like he's an outsider. Didn't you tell him that you trust him? That you don't see him as an evil v-villain."

"I trust that our friendship would stay the same no matter how different we are."

"So you don't treat him the same. You still think of him as different." Jisoo said.

"I- No." He sighed. "Him being a villain will never hinder our friendship. But you, dancing with him will. I don't think I'll ever forgive him for that."

"For what? Did he do something wrong?"

"Why are you taking his side?" Jin asked her.

"I'm not taking neither of your sides." Jisoo caressed her forehead. "I just don't get why you're making me and your best friend dancing at the ball last night such a big of a deal?" Jisoo scoffed. "Why? Tell me noble Prince Kim Seokjin."

Jin gulped. "I'm scared."

Jisoo sat on her bed. "Scared of what?" She formed a comforting smile. "You can talk to me." She said.

"I-I'm scared that you might have feelings for him." He finally threw off the nervous expression he had a minute ago into something more confident. "My Queen must never have that attraction towards anyone, but me."

'How straightforward~' She mentally rolled her eyes. Jisoo cleared her throat. "Okay." She had nothing left to say. "I'll get going now." Nor to hear. She slammed the door and walked with her nightgown on.

She went to the royal cafeteria and looked at the sea of gloomy royals. Jisoo caught a glimpse of Jennie waving at her from their table. The princess quickly ran to her friend and looked around. "What's wrong with everybody?"

"Uhm...duh? They're all disappointed that we'll never ever get to know their future fairytale enemy..and also because we are cursed with an unsure happily ever after."

"By the way, that was your fairytale last night. You've got a happy ending!" Jisoo berated.

"But I don't want a happy ending with Park Jimin! Okay?" Jennie grumbled and folded her arms. "He's not who I want to be with. He's not the man I dream who'd take care of me my whole life." Jennie sighed. "What about you? Is Prince Seokjin the man you wished you'd be with your whole life?"

Jisoo sighed. "I don't know-"

"I don't know is just a relative phrase to the word 'no'." Jennie said. "What do you want? The villain you dance with last night. You know, every royal was looking at you both at the ball-"

Jisoo gulped. "No! I don't want that villain nor do I want to end up with Jin. I want none of them. All I want is to go home, back to our village and...well...fill my hours by reading lots of books!" She groaned.

"But your fate, my fate are already coalesced in this world. Neither of the fairies or magical creatures knew the way out." Her friend said. "We're just like Princess Ariel who wished to leave the sea but there's no way, actually."

The two girls looked outside the window and watched the sun settle down.

***

It was night time once again. Jisoo opened her room's door and thankfully the prince had fled away. But as soon she went near her bed she found a note from her prince saying, 'A Queen doesn't go out of her room in a night gown without her princess tiara. Please dress properly starting tomorrow. From you Prince, Kim Seokjin.

How can her prince tell her who to dance with, what to wear, and even how to look? It was insulting on her end. She clearly had the wrong idea of the princes in storybooks. They weren't kind, wise, nor they were a gentlemen. They were fools and perfectionists who want to take over their princesses.

"I-I can't do this anymore." She went to the glassed cabinet in the middle of her room, holding her princess tiara.

She took out the tiara and smashed the crown into pieces. "If he wants perfect, then I'm no good for him." Jisoo said.

Jisoo sighed and sat down the cold floor. She saw an apple on the floor, that perhaps fell off due to the impact of her tiara being thrown. Jisoo quickly ate the apple. 'Princess Jisoo~ I can show you the way home~' a voice said.

Jisoo's vision became blurry. She didn't see her cold, dark room. But instead she saw her village. The children running around. The villagers selling fresh fruits. Some kids entering the Magic Shop Library. She even saw Miss Lee, their eyes met but somehow, Miss Lee winked at her before closing the library's door.

'You'll be free like a bird fleeing from it's cage.' She opened her eyes and caught a blurry vision of someone in a black cape. The person was offering both their hands towards her. 'Join me and you'll be back home.'

Jisoo smiled weakly. "Really?" She berated. Jisoo immediately reached out her hand to the person.

Then, the princess and the mystery person disappeared from her room. What was left was her half-eaten apple, and her shattered crown.