Royal Flush | pjm; jjk

Chapter Twenty Six

Nora sat under the tree, thinking about a million things and nothing at the same time. Counting every passing minute, she waited for Hoseok to come back with news from the palace. Since the day the guards took Jimin away, nobody knew the actual plans of the advisors. The group expected Jimin to be crowned, but passing days with no announcements made them worried. Heavy weight pushed Nora down every passing minute, guilt for her actions never letting her go. She kept thinking, that it was her fault. If she had not been selfish, if she had not asked to change the plan, everything would have went differently. But Nora was selfish, she wanted to keep her new friends, she didn't want to lie, didn't want to hurt anyone and in doing so, lost almost everyone she cared about.

Unwillingly, Nora's mind drifted back to the funeral. It didn't take long for the word of the royal massacre to reach the people, and trying to calm the nation down the advisors made the funeral public. Nora attended it too, Jin made her do it. As if trying to make her let go, to finish the chapter fully. Yet it seemed to have backfired, as seeing Jungkook get buried so close to his father made Nora's stomach twist. Instead of bringing her closure, it simply brought her more rage; rage that will never go away; rage that can't be executed on anyone. She had her revenge already, and yet it didn't help at all.

"Nora, you're going to get sick." Jin scolded Nora, waking her up from her thoughts. He walked out of the meeting room with a plaid in his hands. Jin paced up to Nora and covered her with the fabric, not even asking her to leave the spot anymore. He knew it was pointless, Nora spent most of her time sitting here and looking at the gate, as if expecting either of the Prince's to show up. Jin tucked the plaid around Nora's hands and saw her fingernails bleeding. He wanted to scold her, but chose not to. Quickly grabbing the napkin from his pocket, he started to clean off her fingers. He'd catch her lately, staring at anything in front of her, picking on her fingers up to the point of breaking the nails. It was the second time in his life, that Jin has felt so helpless. A woman that he cared about was so close, yet still out of reach, light dimming inside her eyes everyday, and he didn't know what he could do to help.

Nora looked at Jin, kneeling in front of her, her palms in his hands and wanted to tell him so many things. She wanted to thank him for his constant care, for making sure she's ok, but the words simply didn't leave her mouth. Closing her eyes, Nora lowered her head, trying to delete the world around her. They sat in silence, Jin focused on her wounds and Nora focused on waiting.

"Guys!" Hoseok's voice woke them up, and Nora bolted upwards, head getting dizzy from the sudden jump. Jin quickly followed her and grabbed her hand. He was not sure what sort of news Hoseok has brought, and he wanted to hold her just in case. "He will be crowned officially. He's requesting all of us." He explained walking towards them, panting from the run. Jin felt a sense of relief embracing him, but Nora's world collapsed even more. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but it was obvious, all of the plans that they made, the future they imagined together will disappear the moment that the crown lands on his head. "When should we go?" Jin asked cautiously and Hoseok shrugged his shoulders. "Any time is as good as ever. We could go now, Yoongi is ready." He spoke, already turning back to the house. "What about Namjoon and Taehyung?" Jin asked, a pinch squeezing his throat. "They've spent the last few days in the palace, there was a lot of work after.. " Hoseok stopped abruptly and looked at Nora with fearful eyes. "After the fire." Jin nodded to his response and started to walk towards the house, dragging Nora with him.

Nora sat in Jimin's room, trying to comb her hair unsuccessfully. Jin walked inside, and seeing her struggle quickly took the brush from her hands, taking control. "We need to be strong." He mumbled, combing her hair. Nora didn't say anything, but nodded slightly. "We need to be strong for him." Jin repeated himself, now braiding it and Nora straightened her back out. She understood his words, she knew what Jin meant. Still, the idea of going back there scared her. She'll need to be in the premises again, she'll need to see Jimin where she saw the King. It was a nerve wrecking feeling, but all Nora could do was sit straight and breathe deeply. She nodded again, as if telling herself that she can do this.