Rosy ashes [j.jk ff.]

f i f t e e n

Yeri was all but dragged out of the ballroom, every protest falling on deaf ears with the king. "Father no! He would never hurt me intentionally!" But all her begging and pleading went into the one ear and out the other. The carriages were already prepared and in front of the steps of the palace when the king dragged Yeri outside. She was crying at this point, looking at the huge castle doors with the hope that Jungkook would burst through and take her back inside. But her hopes were crushed prematurely as she was shoved into the other carriage. 

"Don't cry, princess. It's better this way, now you're safe at least" a voice spoke from next to her and she whipped around with scared eyes, just managing to stifle the scream that was ready to tear out of her throat. "Yoongi?!" she exclaimed in disbelief as she recognized the face in the dark. He bowed his head curtly. "Your Highness" he addressed her with a grim expression. Yeri hadn't really talked with the royal advisor a lot in all her time at the castle, but she always thought him to be a very smart and capable man. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked with confusion in her voice. "I'm your father's advisor now, helping him with his war attacks and plans" he answered casually. "You betrayed your kingdom and the royal family?!" He winced at her shrill voice, but other than that Yeri could see no remorse in his eyes. "A necessary decision, princess. I was there the day that Jungkook burned you, saw him run out of your quarters and saw you lying there in immense pain" he explained. "I am no stranger to this behavior from the royal family. Have you ever wondered why the queen only wears very long sleeves and shows no skin at all in her dresses?"

Yeri gasped now that she thought of it. He was right. "The king is an abusive, short-tempered prick that not only hurts his queen regularly but also several maids and also the-" he chokes up for a second, clearing his throat, "also the stable boy, Jimin. I can't just sit back and watch this continue and I can't let prince Jungkook on the throne and see him become just like his father. It is best Ustrina's royal family is eradicated in war." 

Yeri could not believe his warped sense of justice, recoiling from him like she was disgusted and in a sense she was. "How could you willingly doom two kingdoms to excessive bloodshed and death?" Yoongi's eyes were devoid of emotion. "Some things are worth the death of thousands."

Yeri could no longer stand to look at his face and turned away from him, sobbing into her skirts the whole way back to her old castle. Yoongi did not say another word. 

***

The ball was a mess just after the king's declaration and their departure. People screaming over each other, questions thrown at the king, who only looked at Jungkook with the darkest fury in his eyes. "Dear, would you be so kind and address the folk?" he asked the queen without looking at her, his eyes just fixated on his son that did his best not to cower under his father's anger like a scared toddler. He felt like a four-year-old again. The queen looked at her youngest son with fright in her eyes, scrambling to nod at her husband and brushing past, squeezing Jungkook's hand reassuringly when she walked past. 

Jungkook had no idea how his mother managed to calm the sea of panicking people since his father all but dragged him out of the ballroom. "Do you have even an inkling of an idea of what you just did?" The king's voice was calm, way too calm for Jungkook's liking and he unconsciously moved into a fight stance. "Father I didn't mean to-" Suddenly the king's hands lit on fire and he took a swing at Jungkook's jaw that the prince dodged skillfully. 

"I will teach you to have self-control in front of important political assets, you complete failure of a son!" the king roared, charging at the crown prince again. Jungkook didn't want to fight his father, but what choice did he have really? His father was lost in his own rage, having no mercy at all with Jungkook. "Father please if you would just listen-" He couldn't even finish his sentence, as he had to block a strong blow to his nose with his hands, finally letting the fire consume him as well. 

"After all, I've done for you. I put my all in your upbringing! Only to see you're as weak and stupid as your brother! What have I done wrong?! Your bitch of a mother softened you both like this, didn't she?!" At those words, Jungkook lost it. "Don't talk like that about my mother!" he roared, his defensive stance changing as he charged at his father. He remembered all the times he saw his mother crying and cooling her burns, smiling through her pain at him, reassuring him, that she was okay. 

She didn't deserve this, not an angel like her. Jungkook's flaming fist connected painfully with his father's eye, the king's screaming painfully bringing him back to earth. Red, bubbling skin and a horribly burned eye fixated him and Jungkook stumbled back, almost vomiting at the horrible sight of his father's face. He did this. The king fell like a domino, sprawling on the marble floor with his face down. 

"He attacked me first, he attacked me first" Jungkook mumbled all the way back to his quarters, forcefully holding down his dinner at the memory of his father's deformed face. He forced himself to think of something else, about his Yeri that was on her way back to her kingdom now, probably crying at the prospect of war between her people and his. He just wanted to hold her right now, cry with her and tell her how much he needed her here with him. 

He needed her back. 

Hello, my lovely readers! How are you today? I finally found the time and inspiration to write after such a long time. Sometimes it's really hard for me to find the right words, especially with Rosy Ashes, because there is a certain direction I want this story to go but it's hard to actually get the story there, do you know what I mean? Hah, probably not... Just enjoy this update, alright? Love you guys and see you hopefully soon!