Out Of The Castle (Soobin X Reader)

22

  Kai was the secret to Soobin's peace of mind. His somehow rational thought in times that seemed far from rational was needed. Soobin could not have chosen a better advisor. Kai was able to help the King draft an address to the people, allowing them to return to their homes, sending at least one of his men to each village to aid in any repairs that needed to be made.

  Since he gave that address, the king had not been seen, nor had word been heard of the queen. It had been near a month and the tension floated through the air of the village, whispers floating about the possible death of the queen.

  During the time of crisis, the Queen played a role in welcoming those from far away lands into their home, addressing each village individually. Her effort was noted by the village people and it was appreciated. That is why the tension hung thick in the air. They were not sure if a better queen could be found, nor if the king could recover from the loss of his queen.

  "My lord, you cannot simply starve yourself. A hunger strike will not help the Queen heal any faster," Kai sighed, gently shifting the teacup and saucer with a biscuit on it closer to the king.

  "Perhaps I would have more of an appetite if I knew anything about how my love is doing," Soobin responded dully, pushing the saucer away.

  "The apothecaries do not wish to give you false hope. It would hurt you more to see the Queen in pain, would it not?" Kai asked, placing his elbows on his knees, clasping his fingers together.

  "It would serve me better to know that she is injured than to not hear any word at all." His reply was dry and lazy. He had grown pale and thin, bones feeling hollow, head dizzy. He had eaten very little ever since the Queen had ended up in the medical wing.

  Kai clenched his jaw, looking at the stubborn king, knowing that his worry would soon drive him to an early grave. Without a word, he stood up, going straight to the medical wing. He knew exactly why they refused to let the king see the Queen, because the apothecaries were worried. They knew that war was narrowly avoided, and the more they tended to the wound of the Queen, the more sure they were that if the King saw her in this state, the more emotionally unstable he would grow.

  Kai pounded on the door to the medical wing and after a moment or so, an apothecary slipped through the doors.

  "You will let the King see his wife immediately."

-

  Soobin had time to ponder Beomgyu's actions. He had wondered why he would do such a thing. There was no reason for Beomgyu to hurt his beloved, especially if Beomgyu was willing to go to war over her. That was what brought Soobin to question Beomgyu's reason for war. Clearly, he did not wish to fight for the hand of Soobin's beloved, and that led Soobin to believe that it was never about the princess the whole time. It was about saving face.

  It was as simple as that. Beomgyu had been humiliated by having his potential betrothed married away to someone else. If he allowed this to happen without saying a word, he would be humiliated. So he waged war and then realized the repercussions of war. Rather than allow the kingdoms to fall into a full scale war, he simply attempted to kill the one who made him look a fool.

  Soobin had a lot of time to sit and stew on this. He also had a lot of time to sit and stew on his anger and it was unhealthy. Many times he had forced himself out of war declarations. Even the thought of his poor wife made Soobin wish to end that foolish princes life with his own hands.

  He looked to the tea and biscuits that Kai had left for him, tea now tepid. He grabbed the biscuit and brought it to his lips, yet despite his stomach being empty, it threatened to expel anything it might have had in it. He placed the biscuit down and took a sip of tea instead, the flavour feeling dull and watered down. He sighed and laid down on his sofa, pushing the cup and saucer away from him. Even the smell of the biscuits made him sick.

  Instead, he just closed his eyes and allowed his mind to roam. He could not keep track of his thoughts as he laid with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths. He was unsure of how long it had been when Kai burst back into his room.

  "My lord, the lady of the castle will see you now."

-

  He felt his heart stop when he caught sight of his beloved. Pale skin, sunken cheekbones, deep bags under her eyes, weak frame, eyes closed as she laid in her bed. He felt the air leave his lungs as if someone had stolen it.

  His first instinct was to kneel by her bed, grasping her hand, holding it gently in his own. He looked her up and down, checking for any new wounds, as if she had been fighting a battle every night that she stayed in there.

  The apothecary that was in the room with the two silently lifted her gown to show a gruesome scar, still healing. Any stitches had been removed, but there was an ugly purple bruise that had yet to subside. It was not a pretty sight to behold. It made Soobin want to be sick.

  Yet as he looked over his wife in a fragile state, he thought to himself that she looked beautiful. Even in such a sickly state, he could not help but be enamoured by her.

  He waved the apothecary off after covering the wound again, and then the two of them were alone. Soobin continued to hold her hand and he rest his forehead on the bed beside her. He allowed himself to drift off without any worries into the first proper sleep he'd had in a while.