SCHOOL 2020 ▷ bts

2.2

Taehyung was right. The rebel base didn't take kindly to royalty. In fact, as we walked past the settlements and thatched-roof cottages, a dozen eyes stared at me with ugly disdain. A large pot-bellied man with a wooden leg spat at the ground as I passed.

Taehyung, on the other hand, was receiving a king's welcome. The rebels poured out of their homes to greet him, cheering his name and showering him with praises. I watched a young woman shyly come up to place a wreath of flowers around his neck, then kissed him on his hand. I rolled my eyes.

"What?" a nasty voice snarled. A woman with a blind eye was glaring daggers at me. "You must not think highly of us, eh? You who sit on your golden throne, mocking us, as you eat the food of our lands and drink from cups made by our hands!"

"I don't sit on any throne - " I began indignantly, but my words were cut off as a large, overripe tomato hit me squarely in the chest and exploded on impact. Gasping, I flinched, but before I could turn back, another hit me on my chin. And another. And another, and another, until it was a storm of objects pelting my body.

I cowered, lifting my bound hands to protect myself, feeling rotten fruit and vegetables splattered themselves against my dress. Hearing the jeering and sneering of the crowd. Out of the corner of my eyes, I watched the pot-bellied man play with a butcher's knife. Then his arm swung back, and out, and the knife spun with deadly accuracy toward me.

My eyes widened in shock and fear. This was it. This was how I, only princess of the kingdom, was going to die - 

Then Taehyung was there. A quick drew of his sword, and the knife clashed against the side of the steel blade and fell to the ground. I could see the rise and fall of his chest in agitation.

"Did I give you permission to hurt my hostage?" His voice thundered like a dozen lightning spears. His eyes blazed with ferocity.

The crowd hushed into silence.

"Our war is with the King, and the cruelty of his army. Not with the princess. No harm will come to her, am I understood?"

A pause as Taehyung let his words sink in. I looked up tentatively at the rebel leader, feeling the kindling of an emotion starting to flare in my chest. 

Then, Taehyung turned his cold eyes on me. "After all," he said drily, "a bargaining chip brings the best value when it's untarnished, won't you agree?"

He smirked, and any delusions I may have had about him caring for me vanished instantly. The crowd roared back to life, satisfied, and in that moment, I hated Taehyung the Terror with all my heart. I wanted nothing more than to reach up and slap that arrogant smile off his lips. Those heart-shaped, kissable lips - 

A loud explosion rocketed through the village and I lost my footing, hitting the ground hard. Before I could register what just happened, there came another ear-splitting sound, and I watched the blind woman suddenly disappear in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of her was a crushed foot poking out from beneath a very large, and very round rock.

"Sir!" A rebel came running up, armed to the teeth. "The royal army has found us! They're bombing our defenses as we speak!"

I watched an arrow of fire arced high over the sky and embedded itself into a cottage roof. The straw caught fire immediately and spread fast. Fire rained down as if the clouds of hell itself had opened up. My ears were filled with the sound of falling rocks and screams of agony. 

"Sir, we need orders!"

"Get all men to our defenses immediately!" Taehyung barked. "I want eyes on the army captain! Report his identity to me once you confirmed it! And you" - he grabbed me roughly by the shoulders - "are coming with me."