I heard a loud groan coming from the bedroom and I stood up from my seat. For the past ten minutes, all I could do was sit at the kitchen table and panic in my head. I couldn't even comprehend what Joonmyun was saying.

"I'll go check on him," I mumbled when I nearly knocked over the wooden chair.

Joonmyun grabbed my wrist, making me whip my head around to look at him with urgency. "No, Sookyung's taking care of him."

I tried to pry my arm away, insisting that I go to Jongin. "I can help, too. He’s my responsibility."

Joonmyun pushed me against the wall and I squeezed my eyes shut when the back of my head hit the hard surface. That was going to leave a bruise. "A weak little girl can help, you say?" He pinned my hands above my head and inched his face towards mine until I could smell the saccharine scent of chocolate.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I tried to slide out from underneath but his fingers wrapped tightly around my wrists.

Joonmyun snarled and my whole view on him changed. What I thought looked like an angel was now a demon. "You're the one who brought this upon yourself and your brother."

I went against all that I was taught as a child and spat in his face. "What are you talking about?"

He barely noticed what I had done as he continued speaking in a low voice. "You were supposed to drink your share but instead, you handed the whole thing to your brother." He put a hand on my hips and his legs prevented mine from kicking around. "You gave him two doses of sedatives and now you're going to experience this with none."

"Sedatives?" I tried to remember if my tutor had ever taught me that word but I couldn't. "And what experience?"

"This, little girl." Then I felt his lips on my neck.

I whipped my head to the side, as far as I could go with my arms in the way. "Get off me!" I screamed and writhed under his hold. "Jongin!" I needed his help more than ever now. More than when the mother bear was behind me and more than when the soldiers were around me. I felt truly in danger at this point.

"He can't hear you, dear, and he won't hear you for a while. We were planning to knock him out for just a little while but you ended up giving him twice the amount he was supposed to have. I have no idea when he's going to wake up." The side of his lip lifted up in what I assumed was a smile. "I guess that's a good thing."

"Sookyung! Help!" I called when I felt Joonmyun's hand roaming freely on its own. How could she not hear my screams by now?

His lips met my ear. "My wife has a little toy of her own to take care of. She won't be of any assistance either."

"What?" I froze for a second, not understand what I was hearing. "What do you mean by that?"

He rolled his eyes before diving in for the skin at my neck. "Just having a bit of fun with your brother like how I'm having fun with you. Now, if only you'd stop struggling."

My fury built up. How could such generous people turn malicious like this? I tried to think of some motives but there was no time. Jongin was stuck in that room and unlike me, he was defenseless.

I stored up all my energy and pulled my hands down as hard as I could. Joonmyun was caught off guard and I took that moment to push him back against the table, knocking over the glassware. Before he could get up, I pulled out the knife that was strapped to my leg.

"Don't make me use this," I threatened. I didn't want him to make me use it because I wasn't sure if I could.

Joonmyun didn't care for what I said because I had angered him by pushing him away. He launched back up and grabbed me by the shoulders. "A little thing like you wielding a thing like that is pitiful."

He was right; I wasn't ready to use my weapon. But I knew where I had an advantage. I put my own hands on his shoulders and lifted my knee as fast and as high as I could.

If the situation wasn't so serious, I would've laughed at the face that he made. Joonmyun doubled over and choked out a slew of curses. But I had better things to do than revel in my victory.

"Jongin!" I yelled as I dashed through the living room and pushed open the door that I had seen Sookyung walk into.

I didn't know if I could ever be ready to see the sight in front of me.

I was of marriageable age and yet, seeing Jongin and Sookyung like this left me stunned. Though his sleeping face looked serene, the rest of him was a mess. His hair was mussed, his limbs hung over the edge of the bed, and his shirt was ed.

Sookyung looked even worse. She looked like a rabid dog devouring her prey. She was fully with her hands pressed against Jongin's bare chest. Her beady eyes stared back at mine with ferocity, telling me that Jongin was her property.

But he wasn't. He wasn't anybody's property. That was what was special about him. Jongin went wherever he wanted and was never pulled back by his title. Just imagining him being confined in a castle all day seemed impossible.

I ran forward into the room with all my might and rammed my shoulder into the unsuspecting Sookyung. She screamed as she fell against the wall in a pile. I thought about throwing my knife to hurt her but I was scared. I was too scared to even hurt the villain. Anyway, she might take the weapon and use it against me. Or maybe, just maybe, I might kill her. I couldn't have that stuck on my conscience for the rest of my life.

I knew I was a horrible fighter but nonetheless, I had to get Jongin and me out of here. He was better than me in both fight and flight but I couldn't rely on him anymore. With my rush of adrenaline, I managed to get his body over my shoulders. Without looking back, I pushed through the doors and out into the forest.

It was dark and it was cold but I didn't stop. My feet traveled on their own, leading me through the quickest paths. I pocketed my knife after a few minutes, afraid that I would stumble and stab myself. But I kept running.

My hands clutched onto Jongin's torso as I moved faster and faster. I could've sworn I was going nearly as fast as he usually did. So this was the wonder that was adrenaline.

The farther I ran, the lower the temperature dropped. My hands started to sting from the cold, unlike my legs which were begging for me to stop. I could see the huffs of breath I left in the air but I couldn't stop. I had to get as far away as I could from that damned cottage.

How could I not see through their façade? The entire royal family was composed of fake people and I could readily see who was being truthful and who was not. How had I overestimated the couple's generosity so much?

I could do nothing but blame myself. If I hadn't been practising with those knives... if I had just stayed still... if I had just drunk my drink like I was supposed to.

Then Jongin wouldn't be in this mess.

He wouldn't be dead asleep and he certainly would not have been violated like that.

I shook my head as the image came back into my mind. It was bad to have been touched like that but it hurt even more seeing Jongin helplessly going through it. And it hurt the most to know that I had brought it upon him.

Tears were starting to blur my vision and my breaths were getting more and more uneven. I wanted to stop but I knew that if I did, my body was going to be in a world of pain.

And I was much too scared to stop for fear of that couple finding us again.

 

But my shoulders ached from the weight and my legs were screaming for me to give up. I was barely jogging at this point.

As if some celestial being had heard my cry for help, I saw the light of a village ahead past a few of the trees. Nobody was about but the lamps continued burning. With the last bit of strength, I maneuvered out of the woods and stumbled into the village square. My head was fuzzy as I looked for an inn.

I turned around as I heard the jingling chime of a door and then dropped to the ground. A little old lady stood at the door, staring strangely at me as I knelt by her feet, trying to catch my breath. Though it wasn't an inn, this was a little bakery and it was good enough.

"Please," I begged through my parched throat. "I need your help."

The old granny stuck her head back inside and said something I couldn't understand; my head was ringing too much and I was starting to see spots. Before I could process her words, a young man had come out and a sudden weight was lifted off my shoulders.

I groaned in protest. "Wait, no." I reached out to grab Jongin's hand as he was being carried away.

The grandmother folded my fingers and led me inside. "Don't worry, child. We'll give him a bed. As for you, you need a bath."

I nodded but didn't fully understand what she was asking of me. "What's a sedative?" I asked even though I was ready to drop dead and fall into a slumber like Jongin.

She didn't respond until I was in a tub of hot water and she was scrubbing my hair. "A sedative is...like a sleeping powder, I would say." Her wrinkly hands worked to get the dirt out of my skin. The soap that she used stung against the cuts I had accumulated from the forest. "Makes you relax and helps you fall asleep."

As she ordered me to dunk my head in the water to get rid of the soap, I realized Joonmyun was right. I was the one who had brought this onto Jongin.

"Well, here's your room." The old lady opened a door to a dark room after she had dried my hair and given me a new dress to wear.

I turned around and put my hand against the door. "Wait, I wish to sleep with my brother." I bit my lip, hoping she'd let me. I couldn't bear leaving him alone again.

She merely nodded and led me up the stairs. My muscles were already beginning to stiffen and I had to follow her slowly. She looked over her shoulder, making sure that I was okay. "I can see you love him very much to run with him on your shoulder like that. I'm pretty sure any of my grandsons would've just let me to die," she said as we reached a door.

I didn't know how to respond so I stood there with my mouth dumbly hanging open as she closed the door behind me. Jongin was sleeping soundly, tucked under a quilt. He was snoring again and I sat beside him, knowing he wasn't just pretending to sleep. My fingers slowly buttoned up his shirt so that his bare chest wasn't exposed.

Half of me wanted to wake him up and tell him about how brave I was. How I had fought off a man and knocked off a woman. How I had run through an entire forest with him on my back.

But the other half of me could only think about the bad side. How I had been the one at fault. How I had made the situation worse than it could've been. How I had put Jongin in danger.

I lifted an arm to brush his cheek and feel his skin against mine but even that little gesture made my body ache. He rolled his head to the side to lean into my touch but I pulled away at that second. My eyelids were drooping but I didn’t want to welcome sleep because I knew I would be in a lot of pain in the morning. I sighed and laid down on top of the quilt, trying not to take up too much space.

I closed my eyes, trying my hardest not to cry.

I'm sorry.

 

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ahh i'm so sorry i haven't updated this in forever. i got caught up with other fanfics and university applications and homework and prom and LIFE and ahhhhhhh suho and kyungsoo are evil i know it