Royal Flush | pjm; jjk

Chapter Eighteen

Jungkook was sitting in absolute shock, many emotions and thoughts rushing through his head making him a little bit dizzy. "That's treason.. Nora I'm the Prince! You're telling the Prince about his fathers assassination, are you out of your mind?!" He finally snapped, jumping quickly from the bed. Nora sat still, afraid to move, afraid to say something wrong. She tried to keep her voice calm and steady. "That is not the plan anymore. I don't want it too, we chose it as the last resort." Jungkook grabbed his head, shaking it vigorously. "I don't care, Nora!" He paced around the room, manic smile forming on his face. "I can't believe I liked you.." his words were barely a whisper, and Nora pretended not to hear it. He suddenly stopped, lowering his hands to his mouth. "You lied to me.. Everything was a lie.. What we have is a lie.." Nora quickly jumped up, making Jungkook take a step back.

"I didn't! I didn't lie to you once, I simply.. I simply didn't tell you the whole truth. I was the one that offered a different approach, Jungkook." Jungkook quickly reacted and formed a disgusted expression. "It's Your Highness for you, Nora." He hissed through his teeth, and Nora felt a pinch in her throat. "Your Highness.." she began slowly, "You see with your own eyes what the King has done. People are starving, people are sick." Nora felt her anger rising. "Do you know the things I had to do when I ended up in the streets? Because your father made it impossible for all of us to live in the orphanage?!" Now Nora started to release her anger, barely containing herself from shouting at the top of her lungs. Jungkook took another step back, as if afraid that she'll explode. "You saw how I lived, you saw how they live! Everyone who is not a friend of the nobility or doesn't live in the goddamn capital is barely making it by, while our precious King is throwing all of our money away on booze and whores! I've not seen him once and I've spent so much time in the palace! Where was he, Your Highness?!" Nora felt tears starting to burn her throat, Jungkook simply rested on the table, feeling like the ground was spinning.

"I couldn't even go to an infirmary when I'd get hurt! I had to stitch myself up, because it was simply too expensive to receive medication! Do you see these scars?!" Nora removed her shirt swiftly, leaving her upper body only in undergarments. She started to point to every inch on her body that had a bruise or a scar on it, Jungkook's eyes followed with fear, scanning her scarred body. "This I got, when I tried to steal food from a merchant in the capital when I was starving, this one I got from one of your guards for helping a kid, who accidentally dirtied their pants. This one," Nora pointed below her ribs. "I got this one for trying to steal medicine for my neighbors.. And this one.." Nora raised her hand to the throat, "I received this from the captain of the guards personally." She released a manic smile. "Because he didn't want to take me to trial, Your Highness. He simply cut my throat and left me to die on the street without even providing me a fucking chance at defending myself! " Nora's whole body started to shake at the memories. "He told his guards to throw my still alive body into the sewers!" Nora gave Jungkook a moment to take in her words in. Tears had already started to fall, she couldn't contain anything anymore. Fear of losing everything she built, shame of how she looked, disgust at the whole situation, all of the emotions took over, forming into rage. Not sure who really she was angry at, Nora simply released it all at Jungkook. "This one.." She continued, now sobbing completely, but quickly got interrupted, as Jungkook grabbed her hands and pulled her into a hug.

Jungkook kept holding her, not saying a word, while Nora simply sobbed. His whole world was in turmoil, feet barely holding on the ground, but his whole being felt that she was right. He knew of his fathers free time, that was all he did. He never expected the kingdom to be in such a state, though. Nora's words finally started to reach him, and he understood that she was probably right. There was a reason why the King finally allowed him to leave. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry.." Nora started to whisper, clasping onto Jungkooks shirt, waking him up from his fearful thoughts. He couldn't answer her, he didn't know what to say. He simply stood there, holding her, and trying not to allow himself to fall either. Jungkook couldn't help but feel surprised, as even if his whole reality shifted, holding her in his arms brought him a certain sense of comfort.