Royal Flush | pjm; jjk

Chapter Two

Nora opened her eyes, and was unsure of where she was. Vast emptiness opened up before her, naked feet were standing in an endless ocean of water. There was not a single sound, she couldn't even hear herself breathing. Looking around, she realized that there was no light as well, even so, the place was dimly lit. She spun slowly, orbiting herself, trying to comprehend where she was, and no matter to which side she turned - all she saw was never ending nothingness. Nora opened her mouth and tried to scream - no sound came out. She tried to run, the water under her feet kept splashing, but there was no noise as well. She didn't feel anything. Suddenly, remembering the events leading here, Nora grabbed her throat, but felt nothing again. Looking at her fingertips, slowly but surely, she realized that she can see her feet through them. Am I.. Am I dead? Her thoughts echoed inside her head. She turned around once more, not really sure to which direction she should walk to.

As soon as Nora placed her first step, she heard something. A Voice. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. A melodic, soothing voice, yet agitated, nervous. Alive. Nora swiftly turned on her heel and started to run towards it. With every step, pain started to overtake her body. Firstly it started with her head, then her stomach, then her knees, her arms. Nora kept running, sweat forming on her forehead, no exit visible. But the voice was getting louder. It's getting clearer. Panting, muscles aching, feeling like she's been running forever, Nora pushed a faster pace. When she made the final jump, overwhelming pain took over her neck. Reaching her arms to the voice Nora jumped up, as if expecting for someone to catch her.

"She's awake! Taehyung, quickly, bring some water!"  "Someone call Jin now!" "Where in the world is he?" Random voices kept buzzing in Nora's ear, every sound making her more and more agitated. Her throat was burning, she hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but she felt that everything was spinning. Nora exhaled a harsh breath and ripped her eyes open. Fear was overtaking her body, questions about her safety never letting go. She expected to see guards, maybe some other assholes that she's met through her life, but definitely not this.

A kind looking, muscular giant was hovering over her with a jar of water. Nora took a quick breath trying to assess the situation, when the giant spoke. "Please be careful, don't move too much, don't speak too. Everything is alright, we are not your enemy." He flashed her a warm smile. Dimples? Nora barely nodded, still not fully convinced of his truthfulness. Although, something in his face did seem trustworthy. Nora tried to sit up, the kind giant quickly grabbed her shoulders and helped her up, still signing her to not speak. Nora looked around her bed and saw two more men looking at her in absolute relief. One of the boys was smiling wildly, holding a cup of water and was very hesitant if he should walk over or not. The other was less happy, scanning Nora's face with his black piercing eyes.

Nora looked at them with a confused stare. I don't know them, I've never seen them in my entire life. She scanned the three boys, with every detail becoming more concerned. They are rich. They're obviously rich. Their clothes are expensive, their jewelry is expensive. They look clean and they smell nice. She scanned the men once more, fear kept rising. They are wearing the noble capes. Nora couldn't believe that they were doing this out of the kindness of their heart. She opened her mouth to speak, but the giant instantly stopped her. "Please don't talk. Your throat was.. your throat was cut, we're not sure if the vocal chords were affected, but at least the main artery wasn't. Jin, our friend, he managed to fix you up. But he strictly told us not to allow you to speak, so please, don't alright?" Nora kept staring at the giant, but his expression sold nothing but kindness. Understanding the position she was in, Nora nodded in agreement. The three men quickly relaxed their shoulders.

"My name is Namjoon." The dimple-man introduced himself. He had blond hair and fair skin. His eyes were quite dark and his pine-green colored cape complemented them dearly. "This,"  Namjoon continued, pointing at the man with water, "This is Taehyung." Nora turned her eyes slowly to him, and the boy seemed more concerned about her, than anything that was going around in this room. His bright eyes kept scanning her face, as if looking for any indication of pain. Taehyung had light brown hair, his dark caramel eyes seemed very kind. He was wearing an azure-blue cape. He flashed Nora a boxy smile and finally spoke up. "Would you like some water?" Nora couldn't help but chuckle. He really did look awkwardly stupid with the glass of water in his hands, swinging from his toes to his heels, not sure of what to do. Nora nodded her head, and Taehyung started to walk towards her. Suddenly the man on his right grabbed his cape and pulled him back.

"I'll bring her the water." The shorter man stated, and took the glass from Taehyung. Nora shot a glance to Namjoon, but he was simply smiling apologetically. Nora straightened her back, while the black-haired man walked over. "I will help you drink this, but no funny business, understood?" He inquired with a commanding tone, but Nora couldn't help just make an expression. The boy raised an eyebrow in response, and Nora gestured towards herself. She was laying in a bed, bandaged, throat still stinging and unable to speak. Her eyes caught the man's and she screamed with her look - what in the world could I do at this point? He followed her gaze and released a small smirk. "Fine, just drink." He said and held the cup towards her. Nora took the cup and tried to sip some water. The moment she swallowed the liquid, the pain stung so hard that she dropped the glass, tears escaped her eyes.

"Which one of you idiots decided it's smart to give her water?!" Nora lifted her eyes at the screams and saw a wide-shouldered man standing in the doorway, arms placed on his waist. Black eyes shooting from one boy to another. Pine-green cape. Nora stole a glance at Namjoon and shifted her eyes back to the intruder. They are from the same house. They are relatives. She quickly turned her eyes to the boy who brought her the glass, but his cape was charcoal black. He instantly turned to the intruder and raised his arms in defense. "Jin, sorry, Namjoon told me to." He sounded a little bit scared even. Nora looked back at Jin who was already piercing Namjoon. "Namjoon, why did you tell Yoongi to give her water?" Now Namjoon raised his hands in defense. "I didn't tell Yoongi, I told Taehyung." He mumbled. Jin raised his arms "In what way does that make anything better?! Jesus. Out of the room! Leave me with her." Nora started to feel fear rising in her stomach again. Why is he so angry for water? Why save me then?  The boys quickly scrambled themselves and left the room, Taehyung shot Nora an apologetic look before closing the door.

Jin didn't speak much, he grabbed his medical equipment and started to jump around Nora, once in a while asking to agree or disagree to his medical statements. After listening to her heart, he finally sat down. "Ok, everything seems fine. You're healing very well."  Nora simply kept staring. She had so many questions, she felt like she didn't understand anything, but she didn't know how to ask. Jin looked at her with an understanding expression. "I know. You have a lot of questions, and they will all be answered. But please heal first." Nora shook her head and felt a pout coming up. She quickly recollected herself, not wanting to act like a kid, but Jin already noticed. He exhaled and smiled. "Look, I'm not the one that can give you answers. Well not all of them at least. Let's just say, for the sake of calming your curiosity and fears, that we didn't find you by accident. My friend was looking for you for quite a while, and fortunately, found you just after your incident. He brought you here, you've been asleep for three days. We don't want to hurt you and we will not force anything on you. He wants to ask for your help, if you choose not to - you'll be able to walk away." Nora kept staring at Jin, even more confused than before.

Who could want my help? In what, stealing? Will they really let me go just like that?  It seems way too good to be true. Nora bit her lip and intertwined her fingers. Jin quickly assessed the situation and couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. In his eyes, she looked so small, so ill, he was extremely surprised how she didn't simply pass away the very moment the blade touched her skin. Jin kept scanning her rough hands, her worried face and wondered, if Jimin was making the right decision this time. In Jin's eyes this girl screamed nothing but passiveness. But Jimin gave orders - nurture her back to health, and Jin promised to do so.

"Nora, please trust me. At least for now, let's get you back on your feet, ok? Let's get you better, and once you're able to talk we will meet with everyone and all of your questions will be answered." A little bit surprised at his own actions, Jin took Nora's hand into his own and squeezed it a bit. In return, Nora shot a mistrustful look towards him, but quickly calculated his actions to not be mean mannered. Nora kept scanning Jin's face, looking for any indication of lies. Not able to locate it, she simply nodded in agreement.

Nora spent almost another week in the same room, being visited by the boys. She started to speak a few words now and then, but her voice still sounded very scratchy and the pain was still excruciating, so they decided to wait more. Jin would always come with a cup of tea and smile brightly. Somehow, his constant care and annoyance managed to grow onto Nora and they became a little bit close. She kept asking him about the friend that gave orders to find her, but Jin declined her interests every time. "You will meet him yourself soon. Get back on your feet first." He would say, and nothing more. Days kept passing, and Nora kept feeling better. Jin made sure that she'd eat well, so she started to grow a bit above her skin and bones exterior. For the first time in a while, Nora started to feel healthy.