The Nefarious♔BTS Fanfiction♔AU

Chapter 19

(a/n: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy!)

Everett lounged on a futon in the drawing room, where the rest of his family was. His nose was buried in a book, but his mind was in such a flurry, he had been reading the same page for the past ten minutes. Father was downstairs taking care of quite tedious business and everyone else was on the second floor passing the time. Mother, Lucy, and Rosemary were sewing while Henry was trudging through a book that Everett forced him to read.

Everett finally couldn't take it anymore; he didn't feel too well and it was impractical to glue his eyes to the same sentence for all eternity. He looked up from the pages and made sure nobody was watching him. Then he got up and snuck out of the room, hoping to find reprieve in his private quarters.

Everett glided towards his bedroom, and when he opened the door and shut it behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, peace and quiet. He collapsed onto his bed. Everett stared up at the ceiling and covered his face with his arm. There was no noise, only a much-needed silence. As he lay there, a storm of thoughts tormented his head.

He couldn't stop thinking about his father. Everett had woken up many times to hear his father pacing back and forth through the hallway. At dinner, he spoke much less than he used to, and sometimes he never talked at all. He always bore a distraught countenance, and his eyes held a wild glint. Recently, Everett noticed that his father's hair was thrice as gray as it was last year. He knew it had something to do with his father's perceptions of Leopold's regime.

Everett's father and Leopold had been very good friends, but now Leopold esteemed the throne higher than anything. Father loved his country, and he would defend it no matter what, even if the whole world was against it. So was Father against Leopold? Everett thought it was safe to assume that their relationship turned into something of animosity.

A loud knocking at the door startled Everett from slipping into unconsciousness.

"Everett," a familiar obnoxious voice yelled.

"Leave me," Everett replied, making sure that annoyance coated his tone.

His younger brother entered the room anyway and said, "I'm guessing something happened with Catharine."

"None of your business," Everett snapped back. Henry's talk-hole never seemed to shut up.

"So something did happen, judging by your dramatic show."

Everett was really annoyed by then, and he sat up, staring Henry straight in the eye. "Will you please leave me alone for the sake of humanity?"

"You want to be alone? Well, be my guest if you want to die an old man alone in his bed," Henry retorted in a casual manner. He departed, and Everett groaned as he sank into his bed again. Some days, he just wanted to throttle Henry and teach him the lesson that was way past overdue.

"Stupid Henry," Everett muttered. Why didn't Mother just give him up for adoption?

Suddenly a loud bang jolted the house, and Everett got up. He heard the shouts of strangers and his confused father.

Henry ran into the room with pure terror on his face, and it filled Everett with dread.

"What's happening?" Henry cried as he scrambled over to Everett.

"I don't know," he responded. He went over to the window and opened the curtain slightly. His heart dropped at what he saw.

Men in gray uniforms and armed with guns surrounded the house, preparing to enter it. Their vehicles were parked in the front. Everett heard the screams of his father, his mother, Lucy, and Rosemary, and he needed no further explanation to comprehend what was occurring.

"Leopold found out about Father's disloyalty," Everett realized out loud.

"What?" Henry whimpered.

"It was the servants. They spied on us. On Father!" No wonder. Everett should have known when he noticed that the door to the dining room was ajar. Leopold was paying them to betray their master.

Footsteps thundered up the staircase, and Henry's eyes filled with tears. Everett grabbed Henry's wrist and dragged him out of the bedroom.

They ran down the hallway and stopped at the end. Everett opened a door on the adjacent wall and they entered the guest bedroom, which had a window at the end. Everett shoved the bed in front of the door. It should buy them more time.

Everett opened it and looked down, making sure that there were no soldiers outside to see them. Jumping down three stories most certainly wasn't on Everett's list of the safest things, but it was the only way to escape. The worst that would happen is that he'll die and Henry will be arrested along with the others, and maybe killed. But it was a chance that he would have to take. Everett would rather die than let himself be handed over to Leopold.

He grabbed Henry's shoulders. "If I don't survive this jump, don't follow me. Hide anywhere. You might be caught, you might not. In any situation, don't be afraid. Promise me."

"I promise," Henry croaked as he sobbed through his tears. Everett nodded at him. Then, he took a deep breath and hopped out of the window.

The wind rushed past him, and he felt his stomach levitate. The ground met him sooner than he thought. Everett landed on his foot, and a sharp pain coursed through his leg. He bit back a cry, and he turned his head to examine his injury. His foot was bent in an awkward position. But at least he survived.

Everett struggled to stand up, and he put his weight on his good foot. Then he raised his head towards the top of the building, where Henry was. He was still bawling, but his expression contained relief to see that his older brother was still alive.

Everett extended his arms. "Jump!"

Henry shook his head. "I'm scared!"

"Just do it! I'll catch you! I won't let you fall!" Everett's eyes pleaded with Henry's. As if Henry had accumulated another ounce of trust, he jumped out, screaming. Everett grunted as his arms bore the weight of Henry, who tightly wrapped his arms around his neck. Everett smiled at him. "See? You're still alive." Henry kept his tear-soaked face buried in Everett's shoulder.

Everett, carrying Henry, ran with much difficulty to the back of the house where the dust carts were. The soldiers were probably swarming the entire house by now, and hopefully, they haven't discovered that two of their targets have escaped yet. Everett dumped Henry in a dust cart that was near the corner of the house. Once Henry was in, Everett tried to heave himself into it, but pain shot through his foot, and he stepped back onto to the ground.

"Help me up," Everett urged. Henry grabbed his hands and helped Everett climb in, and they both hid in the family's disposal bin.

After a few minutes, Everett heard the wagon wheels roll against the floor, and he peaked out from behind the corner. A wagon clunked down the street. He couldn't see anybody in there because of the canvas covering it, but he knew that his parents and sisters were probably in there.

But that was only one of the wagons out of the two that Everett saw were parked in front of the house. Some of the soldiers were still here, looking for him and Henry.

Everett nudged Henry. "We can't stay here." Henry looked up at him, his cheeks already dry. He looked miserable. "Come on," Everett urged, and Henry hopped out of the dust cart. He helped Everett out and Everett kept his arm around Henry.

Their lives had changed in a matter of five minutes. Unprepared for something so drastic, they had no plans. They had nowhere to go. But Everett knew he had the responsibility of protecting Henry, and he would carry out his task until his death.

"Let's go," Everett said, and together, they made their way to the density of trees, into the world that they barely knew.

(a/n: Awww, Everett and Henry lost everything. Well, they didn't lose their hope! Lol sorry for being cheesy. Carpe diem!)