The Devil's Kingdom

"Brother" ?!

It's little past midnight when I finally finished my practice. My body is trembling & hot. My mouth and nose both are grasping for air desperately. Black dots are forming in the corner of my eyes.

Putting the sword inside its scabbard I rush over to the little pond inside the room & splash palm full of waters again & again on my face till my head felt a little light & breath slowly started to settle down to normal.

I get up looking around the room when I noticed the dinner Aera had brought for me still placed on the food table. I can't dare to take any food inside my body in this state.

Then, I should leave for Jungkook's study now. He must be waiting for me.

Swiping the sweat and water from my face, I leave for Jungkook's office.

As soon as I stepped a foot outside the first door the two guards standing on its either side gets alerted. I feigned complete ignorance to them and walked into the corridor.

Walking through couple more long corridors, I reach at the doorstep of Jungkook's study.

I gave a knock softly when the sound comes from inside almost instantly " Come in! "

Slowly cracking the huge doors, I peeked inside when I see Jungkook sitting on his table writing something on a paperwork. I get inside & close the doors behind me. I don't see his aide anywhere in the room.

The piles of papers has increased on his table. Walking near to his table, I stood across the table to him. I wait for him to stop writing and look up at me but he seemed too immersed in it to even stop his hand and look up, so I interfered " It's late. Aren't you going to take any rest? "

" I can ask the same thing to you? " he says without removing his gaze off from his work.

I exhale. " How can i when you've called me here? " I ask him.

" Come here! " he says.

I stare at him taken aback by his words. But after a moment i did walked around the table to him. He finally keeps the dip pen in his hand, back down in the inkwell kept aside and looks up at me.

My body conditions could never stay normal whenever I'm looking in his eyes without any obstruction & he's looking right back in mine.

Out of nowhere he clutches my wrist and pulls me into his lap making my eyes widened in surprise, in shock.

He keeps his hand between so that my back doesn't hits the edge of chair's armrest uncomfortably. He slowly leans his face closer and says in a low voice that made a shiver run through my whole body " You could've ignored my message! "

" How can I.. ? " I say in I don't know, subconsciously, consciously, drowning in his eyes " You haven't come to meet me even once, for a week now. "

Jungkook stays silent for a while staring at my face before he asks " You'd seen me two days before, how can that be a week to today? Are you losing your mind Water Princess"

" Not that! That man is the Crown Prince of Asterin who don't have any time to waste for anyone! I'm talking about you not visiting your wife, not even once for a whole week. " I say.

My hands unconsciously lifts to touch the blackness formed under his eyes due to lack of sleep. But before my skin could touch his, he holds my hand stopping me " I had told you not mistake me with anything else, I am one of those demons & devils living in this palace, hadn't I? "

I nod my head looking at my hand in his grip " You had. I had tried to convince myself with that too but all in vain. " I gulp " What's happening to me? I should hate you! I'd taken oath to destroy your father & his men that includes you, too! "

Tears line on the edge of my eyes when I look up at him and say " You had said, you'll give me every reason to.. end your life. " I swallowed the lump formed in my throat before I speak again " You're a liar! " my voice breaks along with my face.

" Dare you drop a single tear I swear I'm going to drag you out of this room! " he warns.

I look at him quietly, trying to discover his real emotions that he's been hiding behind that stone face. " Should I smile then? " I ask with a faint smile on my lips.

Jungkook stares at me in silence before he let's go of my hand that he's been holding and holds my face instead. His thumb brushes on my cheek softly. He holds back his words inside him.

" Say it! Let them out. " I say to him in a low voice.

He takes off his gaze away from mine.
" There's.. nothing, to tell! "

You're lying.

The paper on which he was writing earlier drifts away from the table in the wind & falls on the ground making a sharp screeching sound. " I'll get that! " I say & was about to get up when Jungkook pulls me back " I'll get it later! "
" Ask any questions you have. I have to get back to my work. " Jungkook says.

Now that he had mentioned about it, I did have few questions to ask him about.

" How do you keep your emotions aside while harming someone you don't want to but you've to.. because they're fighting & protecting the wrong side! How one can do that? " I ask him so openly and without any hesitation that it surprises myself.

" Focusing on one single thing, that's important, which is the reason why you're standing in that battle! And not any other thoughts. " he says. I absorb each of his words attentively.

I was opening my mouth to ask him another question when a sound drags both of our attention towards it. Both Jungkook and I stare at the numerous shelves stacked with books, from floor to ceiling of that side wall, alerted, because him as well as me could feel someone's presence behind that wall.

My eyes widens in shock when a portion of the shelves along with the wall behind it moves open like a door & a teen boy walks out. Looking at his appearance, those high quality clothes, the gold band running around his forehead, the sword in his hand, all the accessories he is wearing from head to toe concludes only one thing, this child is either a member of the royal family or belongs to a high-class noble clan.

The boy looks confusingly at Jungkook and then at me before he again looks back at Jungkook and asks " Who's she, brother? "

Brother?!

***