fairytale ending? ; yang jungwon

07

before her was a vast crowd awaiting her arrival. beside her was a fine young man, who was to be her soon-to-be fiancé. taking a full breath in, she shook off her nerves and stood up to the podium to give her announcements.

"good day kingdom of kalopsia! my father, the king, has decided to step down from the throne. as his only child and the heir to the throne, it is with great honor that i announce my coronation."

before she could continue, the sea of people erupted into a loud applause. she waited for the crowd to settle down before speaking again.

"as your future queen, i must uphold tradition. and tradition says that one must have a noble partner to help them rule he kingdom."

with that cue, she beckoned the young man to stand beside her, his face finally revealed to the public.

sadness rose to her face but she didn't falter. she refused to show her true feelings to the crowd. after all, the kingdom should always come first, right?

she hated the words she was about to say.

"it is with pleasure that i announce my engagement with the prince of the kingdom of halcyon, cha-"

a loud bang interrupted her speech. the big doors at the back of the hall opened as someone rushed in.

she could recognize that face from anywhere. those big doe eyes filled with determination, his brown hair that glistened with sweat from running. it all pointed to one person.

'yang jungwon..'

he was her first love but they couldn't last. she was soon to be a queen, a royal all of her life. he was a peasant, poor and living in the streets. she couldn't care less though, he had a big heart and loved her genuinely.

"i object!" he said, still panting "i object with all the respect i have left in my being."

the crowd and guests gaped at the new comer. dirty and torn up clothes, shoes that are as good as gone. it was obvious from his appearance alone that he doesn't have a say in this.

even he knew that he had no chance. yet, he continued, begging for a miracle to somehow happen.

"i understand that tradition is tradition. it must be followed." the boy started, his voice booming in the quiet place "however, it is also said that one can only marry once. marrying twice is a sin, no?"

the crowd murmured amongst themselves. he wasn't wrong. but they didn't know where he was going with this.

"so please, don't spend your one chance of marriage on a prince you don't love. spend it with me, nami."

the crowd gasped at his words. it was illegal to call the royal family by their names alone.

suddenly, a dagger caught people's eyes as it flew through the air. it was headed to the young boy.

and it seemed like luck and good aim was on its side this day.

before anyone can stop it, the dagger went through jungwon's body, piercing his chest and his heart altogether. blood speed out of the wound, causing a puddle to form on the ground below him.

nami felt her heart stop as well at the horrific sight. tears flowed out her eyes. she never thought she would witness her love's death, let alone their murder. terrified, she glanced over to the owner of the blade. his face was like stone, unmoving and emotionless. now she was afraid of the young man beside her.

'am i really going to marry him'

all of a sudden, she felt a pounding in her head. she clutched her eyes shut at the immense pain, her hands gripping her hair tightly. her crown fell off her head but that was the least of her concerns,

not when jungwon was laying in a pool of his own blood.

not when she was going to black out again.

――― ๑ ――― ๑―――