{ chapter fourteen

Jongin realises Taemin’s grip on his hand is growing tighter and tighter as the minutes pass and they approach the central arena, and it relocates to Jongin’s waist once the crowd of citizens come into view.

“Has it happened?”

“I don’t think so,” Taemin whispers. “Stay close to me. I don’t want anyone seeing you.”

Jongin has no plans to stay back out of view and watch Kyungsoo be executed without intervening, but he stays quiet, not wanting Taemin to rethink his decision of bringing him here. Taemin swims him closer and circles around the audience, searching for a safe spot to watch from, and jolts when he spots two familiar figures hanging around the edge of the crowds.

“There’s Jonghyun and Minho.”

They approach quietly and Jongin cranes his neck to try and see into the centre of the arena while Taemin is distracted. Jonghyun and Minho gasp when they see Jongin, and swim over to meet the two halfway so their conversation won’t be heard.

“How did you get him down here?” Jonghyun hisses. “I thought he couldn’t enter?”

Jongin stiffens uncomfortably. He can tell from the looks on their faces that Taemin has told them everything.

“I don’t know how,” Taemin murmurs in reply. “But he found me. And he wanted to come here.”

“Are you going to stay?” Minho asks. “It hasn’t happened yet. None of them have arrived.”

Taemin gulps and looks over at Jongin, who is obviously itching to break away from his grip, before nodding. “I can’t let Jongin watch it alone.”

Jongin purses his lips and looks away, disliking how overprotective Taemin is being, how he acts like he understands the pain he’s been, and is going, through. He doesn’t see the exchange of glances between the three Mer friends, the look of desperation Taemin sends their way, pleading for help. They understand him instantly.

Jonghyun swims up to Jongin’s other side and hugs him around the shoulders, smiling gently at him to hide his actual intentions. He knows the moment Kyungsoo is brought out, Jongin will go insane.

They bring him forward to the edge of the crowd, with Minho following close behind. Jongin feels uneasy with his friends so close to him, but he doesn’t detect their silent plan, and is under the assumption that their intentions are to support him, so he stays quiet.

The arena is large, quite like any open arena on the Surface – like a hollowed-out circle in the seafloor, lined with smoothed out rocks and blocks of sandstone to form seats. Of course, not everybody fits into the arena, so majority of the population lingers around the outside, waiting for the event to begin. Jongin finds it crudely ironic how similar the scene is to a crowd of fans watching a sports game, or a concert. He still finds it hard to comprehend that so many Mer are gathered to watch the royal prince be slaughtered.

He’s violently snapped into the reality of it when the crowd hushes, and Jongin notices a trapdoor around the edge of the circular arena opening. The King and Junmyeon exit from it, followed by two guards armed with tridents, and Taemin quickly pulls Jongin back a little further, paranoid.

“Stop it,” Jongin hisses. “Let me see what’s happening.”

“He might see you—”

“Stop it, Taemin!”

The King swims to the centre of the arena and sweeps his cold gaze across the crowd, confirming that his people have gathered as he had asked them to. Junmyeon lingers behind him, his soft features ridden with pain, but he holds his head high, expression unmoving.

“You are all aware of the purpose of this assembly,” the King announces. His voice is amplified and echoes around the arena, hard and unfeeling, and Jongin shivers. The thought of feeble Kyungsoo being at the mercy of the tyrannical King terrifies him.

“An unforgivable offense has been committed within the royal family,” he continues. “Our legacy has been betrayed, for the cause of sinful desires. The filth of the Surface has corrupted the purest of Mer. This deed cannot go without punishment.”

Jonghyun glances at Jongin, checking to see how he reacts to the derogatory reference to his people. Jongin’s eyes are glassy and emotionless, but his nose is wrinkled in displeasure.

“To address this problem for those who have not yet heard,” the King says, turning slightly to face the crowd at a different angle, “a human has found their way into our Kingdom, and has been visiting on what we believe to be a daily basis – but this cannot be helped, nor is it punishable. What has caused this assembly is the forbidden interaction between the human and one of the royal princes.”

A small wave of murmuring rumbles between the audience – clearly, not everybody has heard the news. Judging by the words of disbelief being exchanged, the offense Kyungsoo has committed is unthinkable in Mer society.

The King turns back to the open trapdoor and motions towards it, and two guards swim out – with Kyungsoo held between them. Jongin’s gasp is suppressed by Minho’s quick hands that slam over his mouth, automatically sensing his horror.

Kyungsoo faces the ground in shame, his wrists bound behind him, the guards pulling him out by his elbows. His hair is dishevelled and his skin looks washed out and undernourished. Clearly, he hasn’t been well taken care of.

The guards stop a few metres before the King. Kyungsoo doesn’t look up to meet his father’s eyes, and instead stares at the seafloor, hiding his face from the public. Junmyeon watches him sadly, his pained eyes filled with love for his brother, obviously wishing to reach out towards him – it’s clear it agonises him to remain in place. Jongin struggles against Taemin and Jonghyun, desperate to reach Kyungsoo, but his friends pull him back protectively.

“This boy,” the King remarks in disgust, “has betrayed the royal bloodline. Not only has he committed treason by interacting unlawfully with a human, but has had romantic relations with the human. And—” the King pauses to wait for the disapproving muttering to die down, “—the human is another male.”

The entire audience gasps in horror – the information is obviously new to them. Jongin grinds his teeth in anger as Kyungsoo shrinks in humiliation.

“I understand you are all wondering how such an act was committed under the noses of the royal family and royal guards,” he says bitterly. “Of course, this deed could not have been performed alone – and another member of the royal palace must be prosecuted.”

Kyungsoo’s head rises as he listens to the King speak, furrowing his eyebrows. He turns to the trapdoor as the King nods towards it again, and his face twists in mortification as a detained Merman is brought out by more guards.

“No!” Kyungsoo screams. He thrashes against the guards and pounds his tail, helpless. “No, Jinki, no!”

The whole audience is silent. Even Jongin is frozen in confusion, his heart pounding as he listens to Kyungsoo’s distressed shrieks. The guards pull the male towards the King easily, his strong frame providing no resistance, and halt a fair distance from the royalty.

“This servant,” he says, repulsion slick on his tongue, “has been not only allowing the prince to exit the palace and meet with the human, but has been encouraging him to do so, all the while lying to the faces of every member of the Royal Guard, and to myself.”

Kyungsoo sobs and shakes his head, still fighting against the guards. “No, no, it’s not true,” he gasps, “please, please—”

“Silence!” the King orders. The guards pull back on Kyungsoo and he falls quiet, crying as he stares at the servant. Jongin feels his friends staring at him, but he’s just as confused as they are – convincing Kyungsoo to meet with him? Was everything between him and the prince just a plan, a scheme?

“Tell me, servant,” the King demands, addressing the weak man before him, “confirm this for all of the Kingdom to hear. Did you convince the royal prince to unlawfully meet with a human?”

“Yes, Sir,” Jinki says feebly. “It’s my fault, Sir.”

“Then you will face the same punishment, for equal treason against the Kingdom.”

“No!” Kyungsoo screams, squirming to break his binds. “He didn’t do it, Father, please!”

Jongin squeezes his eyes shut, finding it difficult to breathe. Hearing Kyungsoo in so much panic hurts, but he knows now what the servant is doing, and he struggles to contain his tears. Kyungsoo wasn’t fooled into seeing him at all – the servant is lying, to save Kyungsoo’s life, and place the blame on himself.

“You are no longer my son,” the King says sharply, facing Kyungsoo. “You have no right to speak to me without respect, boy.”

Even from far away, Jongin can see that Kyungsoo is shaking with anger. Junmyeon, however, looks away, unable to comprehend the fact that his beloved brother is being rejected and disowned.

“Servant,” the King continues, “you are a traitor to this Kingdom. You have corrupted the royal family and disrupted the balance of the Sea. Your life is no longer valued in our Kingdom.”

The guards release Jinki and push him down to the ground, and the servant collapses at the King’s tail, already giving up. He doesn’t struggle and stays on the ground, waiting for his fate to be delivered. Another guard swims across the arena quickly from the trapdoor, a long rope woven out of seaweed in his hands, and he loops it around Jinki’s neck and ties a knot quickly. Kyungsoo begins howling again, hysterical, pleading for the King to stop and spare his life.

Jinki raises his head slightly to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes, and shakes his head, smiling at him bitterly. Jongin covers his mouth, overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for the servant he’s never even met.

Kyungsoo is in agony as memories of Jinki flood his mind, overwhelming him as the remaining seconds of Jinki’s life tick away. The servant has always been there for him, always protected him, forever placing the prince’s safety before his own. He knows that, despite his begging and pleading, this is the last time Jinki will sacrifice his own safety to shield him.

“Don’t cry, Kyungsoo,” Jinki says tenderly, his gentle voice amplified in the enormous arena. The whole audience is silent, touched by the comforting words of the humble servant – it’s clear to Jongin now that nobody wants the modest man to die.

Everything seems to move in slow motion. The King nods towards the guards, and the one holding the rope wraps it around his hands, bracing himself to pull. A few citizens turn away, some watching from behind splayed fingers, mothers covering the eyes of their children.

The rope is pulled fast. It’s all over within an instant.

Kyungsoo wails, but he’s finally stopped resisting against his guards. There’s no point in trying to escape anymore – it’s too late to save him now. Jinki slumps to the ground, his head lolling forward, no longer supported by his snapped neck. Junmyeon’s hands cover his mouth, his eyes red with tears, backing away so his father can’t see how broken he is.

“Jinki,” Kyungsoo weeps, “no, no…”

Two guards reach down to scoop up the murdered servant, and swim him out of the arena, his limp body hanging between them. Jongin’s breathing is ragged and shallow, and he starts to fight against his friends’ arms, realising that Kyungsoo is next.

“Kyungsoo!” he shouts, his voice still muffled by Minho’s hands. Tears sting his eyes as the guards bring Kyungsoo closer to his father, forcing him down to bow at the fins of the King’s tail.

“Taemin, let go of me!” he begs.

“Kyungsoo,” he says cruelly, “you are no longer my son. You are no longer a member of the royal family. Your blood is filled with pure Mer, but is infected with your desires for the Surface.”

“I don’t care,” Kyungsoo spits. Junmyeon clutches his chest and shakes his head, begging Kyungsoo to stop, but the his brother doesn’t see. “I never wanted to be your son. I wanted to join the Surface even before I met him.”

The King’s face reddens in rage, and he gestures for the guards to move away with trembling hands.

“You say you wish to be a part of the Surface?” the King jeers. “Then your wish shall be fulfilled. I will separate you from the Sea.”

Jongin’s eyebrows raise in confusion, and the slightest pang of hope lifts his heart for a moment. Perhaps the servant’s scheme worked, and the King will let Kyungsoo go – and not only that, he’ll grant Kyungsoo the ability to join the Surface.

His spirits drop the minute he turns to Taemin, who has paled significantly, his face stricken with horror.

“I will grant you what you wish for,” the King continues, “and I will take the Sea from you. Your pure Mer blood will no longer survive in the Sea, nor will it survive on the Surface. No traitor deserves to live and fulfil their evil desires.”

The realisation dawns on Jongin, and he whimpers in terror. The King is going to take the Sea from Kyungsoo’s blood so he can’t breathe underwater – but Kyungsoo is pure, he has no Surface in him to allow him to live in the air.

The King is, quite literally, going to empty him of life.

“Kyungsoo!” Jongin cries, pulling at Taemin’s and Jonghyun’s wrists, trying to wrench their arms away. He swings his head and tries to shake off Minho’s hands so Kyungsoo can hear him, to light a spark of hopefulness in the prince after being left alone for so long, after seeing his servant be murdered before his very eyes. Something in Jongin’s mind tells him that if Kyungsoo knows he’s there, he’ll pluck up the courage to escape, instead of giving up and embracing his death.

“Do it,” Kyungsoo challenges. “Kill me, Father. I’d rather be dead than live this life.”

“No!” Jongin roars. “Taemin, for ’s sake, let go of me!”

A few of the Mer around them look over their shoulders, sceptical of the muffled screams, and their eyes widen once they realise Jongin is the human that has been associating romantically with the prince. They trade whispers between one another, but thankfully, nobody points him out to the King.

Furious, the King extends his hands towards Kyungsoo – and what follows shocks Jongin into stillness, and he finally stops resisting against his restraints.

Jongin can’t see anything coming from the King’s hands, but he immediately realises some kind of invisible force is drawing out the Sea from Kyungsoo’s body – and it’s brutal.

Kyungsoo immediately begins to scream in agony, and he writhes in pain on the seafloor, his wails causing tremors throughout the entire arena. Jongin’s heart stops beating and his breathing hitches in his throat – he wants to cover his ears to block out the horrible sounds, but his whole body is frozen.

The sounds are horrendous. Jongin squeezes his eyes shut, the sounds of Kyungsoo’s howls combatting with the memories flooding his mind. All Jongin can hear is Kyungsoo’s voice, his beautiful singing voice, his silvery laugh and the way he’d whisper “I love you” every time they kissed – this is not Kyungsoo’s voice. These ugly shrieks can’t be coming from the same beautiful lips that Jongin knows so well.

He opens his eyes only to see Kyungsoo’s face contorted with excruciation, his screams shortening as he struggles to breathe, his thrashing growing weaker as the energy is drained from him. He gasps for breath in between his cries and begins to choke on the water, hands wrapping around his throat with his eyes screwed shut.

Junmyeon’s fingernails draw welts into his cheeks, tormented by his inability to intervene. His strong façade breaks as he cries for the pain of his brother, for the situation he could have prevented had he known what was happening. He wholly blames himself, and the guilt only makes him weep harder.

Finally, after Kyungsoo’s screams dwindle to gasps and retches, he falls to the ground, lifeless and twitching as the King forces out the last of the Sea from his blood. He curls up on the sand, trembling as he’s emptied of life, before finally going still.

He’s gone.

✏ [ a/n ] im so sorry guys HAHAHAHHA

word count: 2737