A Queen and Her Seven Servants {BTS}

Chapter Thirty One ~

lowkey kinda sad. flashback is over hehe

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It had been two weeks since the meeting in the study. I had recovered fully from my illness and Marina had been sent home with lots of gifts. She didn't want to receive them and had even left them near the palace's entrance with a note saying that she didn't deserve the gifts, but I made Namjoon go and force her to take it. He came back, though, with a basket full off various herbs and some stuff for the boys, like flowers for dyes and some expensive spices to use in meals. There was also a note of gratitude for taking care of her and treating her like she was a royal herself. I reminded myself to check up on her every now and then and make sure she's taken care of.

I had been taking daily visits to the Dark Room and reading through my dad's journals and the ones he left behind in his room. I wrote down what I thought was important and thought I should remember. I mulled over the decisions I was thinking of making. My mom's words kept replaying in my head as I considered not even following through with my decision until I finally gave up and just accepted the fact that this would be one of the many hardships of being queen.

I left the boys to tend to themselves most of the time, which surprised them. When Hoseok would ask if he needed to get anything and told him that he was free to get some rest, his eyes widened before he quickly bowed and scurried off. I skipped lunch most of the time and stayed in the study. I skipped my classes and my fittings. I just read through my father's writings and finally one day, I asked if Hoseok could hold a meeting in the throne room.

I waited patiently as I sat in my throne. The purple velvet was soft and cold and the silver adornments glinted in the light. I swallowed hard and I felt my heart beating against my chest like a wild bird in a cage. I felt my stomach churn with anxiety and when footsteps found their way into my hearing, my leg started bouncing up and down as I was unable to control my worry. Soon, my seven servants were standing before me, confused looks on their faces.

"Your Highness?" Jimin asked. "Is everything alright?"

I bit my lip before sitting up straighter, taking a deep breath. "I called you here to tell you that... I will no longer be needing your service."

They all looked at each other, not knowing what to say. "What?" Namjoon stated.

I sighed. "I'm letting you seven go. I don't need you anymore."

"Did you find someone better?" Taehyung asked. "Did we do something wrong?"

I shook my head, fed up. I wanted to get this done as quickly as I could. I couldn't stand doing this. "No, no, no. I need to do this for myself. I need to do this for Aaliyah and her wellbeing."

"Wait a second," Jungkook murmured before looking up at me. "This has to do with what that man said. The one I brought in who said that you were letting us do your work as queen and not doing anything yourself."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Jeon, he was right. I do hand over a lot of my work to you seven. I should do it myself," I said.

"But we're your advisors," Yoongi objected. "Every queen or king has a group of advisors that they consult with for help."

"Besides, you're eighteen," Hoseok added. "You're still clueless as to how to run a kingdom."

"Please don't make a rash decision," Jimin pleaded. "You've helped us with so much. Let us help you."

Jin nodded. "Your Highness, you saved our lives. For that, we owe you those very lives. We will serve you until we can no longer walk on our feet or mutter a single word with our lips."

My hands began to sweat. God, they were making this difficult. "I have given you the chance to restart. You are all young. You still have time to make something of yourself. It would be foolish to keep you housed in this castle without the chance to redo everything. No one remembers who you once were. You seven are blank slates, waiting to be utilized."

"Your Majesty," Taehyung uttered, but he said nothing more as if the shock of this news silenced him.

"Don't listen to that man," Jungkook said, his voice defiant. "I don't mean to speak wrongly against you, but it would be foolish for you to listen to a man who wouldn't bow to you."

"I never asked him to bow to me," I murmured.

"He wouldn't have if you had," Jungkook replied matter-of-factly.

"At least think this over," Yoongi suggested. "Sleep on it. Talk it over with the one in the mirror. Pray, even." I noticed Jimin nod at the last suggestion.

"Yoongi, I have," I blurted. "I have for two weeks. I went away and consulted every method of thinking something over for two weeks. I sat in the Dark Room. I sat in the study. I sat in the bath. For hours upon hours, I tried to come up with an alternative, but I couldn't find one that benefitted Aaliyah and you."

"Please-"

I stood, silencing any one's rebuttal. I walked down the granite steps leading to the throne until I stood on the last one, looking at the boys – no, men – in front of me.

"By order of the Queen, I demand you to leave me and live happily."

The seven seemed to shake at these words, but they didn't dare to disobey an order of the Queen. And like the loyal servants I knew them as, they all bowed, clearly stating words of agreement. I watched as they turned, one by one, and left the room.

Namjoon was the last one to go and before he shut the door behind him, he turned to face me. "Thank you, Your Highness. For everything." And when the door clicked, I fell to the floor in a sobbing mess.

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the next chapter is a little worse whoops

the drama is coming tho so that's good!