Seven Wings of the Damned (BTS)

Forty- Alive

(Jungkook's POV)

I dragged myself to my bed languidly. I was so exhausted. Nadine worked me like a dog. I could really go for that massage now.

There was a knock on my door.

"Mmm, what?" I turned over from face-planting in my bed.

The door opened and Nadine stepped in. Oh, great.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she approached me.

I sat up. "Tired. Sore. Achy. Did I say tired already?"

She laughed slightly as she stood before me with her perfect body as fit as a fiddle. She could definitely beat my ass. I know she was going easy on me. But, it wasn't easy enough. "It'll get easier with practice." She placed her hands on her hips.

She didn't even look like she broke a sweat all day. Was she a god?

I stood up and walked to my vanity to take my gear off. I pulled the buckles down to undo them and they would not budge. I sighed, as I couldn't get my shirt off without them coming undone. As I struggled to undo them, a hand came around.

I looked up at Nadine quickly. "You have to pull and press the button at the same time." She demonstrated. "Like this."

I pulled the other buckle and unbuttoned it. I turned away from her and pulled off my shirt shyly.

"Thank you."

Nadine grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"What?" I frowned at her tiredly.

She laughed and poked at my stomach. I flinched away and glared at her. "Your stomach is so flat. Your muscles are so tiny," she teased. "You wanna see what real muscles look like?" she smirked.

"No," I turned away and covered my stomach.

"What's that?" She asked.

"What?"

She traced her fingers over my skin, tickling my scar on my chest. "How'd you acquire such a nasty mark? It's quite sexy, actually. It adds to your masculinity. Your very small amount of masculinity."

"Why are you so mean?"

"I'm not mean," she smirked. "If you can't take a bit of teasing, how are you going to handle a war, My King?"

I looked at her surprised and then turned away. "It's from my childhood. And that's all you get to know until you start being nice."

I walked to my closet and grabbed a pair of pants and a t-shirt and went to my bathroom. Nadine sat down on my bed. I changed before going back into my bedroom where she sat waiting.

She got me thinking about my scar again. I remembered when I got it and my mom tended to me on her own. I gave her such a hard time about the stitches when she was just trying to take care of me. I missed her.

"Can I ask you something?" I turned to her.

She leaned back. "Depends. I might be mean with my answer," she laughed.

I sat down next to her. I was nervous to ask, but I wanted to know. "Do you know what happened to my mom? I received a letter from her but it wasn't finished and I'm wor-"

"She's fine," she interrupted.

I looked at her quickly. "She is?"

She nodded. "When the king found out about you, word traveled fast to Astra through our scouts in Haven. So, we planned to move her back home."

"Wait. Planned to?" I looked at her.

"When we came to her, the king's guards had already made their way to her home. They were all dead of course. Your mother is an immaculate fighter. She left us a note saying she was going into hiding and to send guards to her location. And we also found the letter meant for you."

"But, she's okay?" I asked desperately.

"Yes. She has a few scratches and bruises from her fight, but she's fine. Well taken care of in the mountains beyond the lake."

"Can I see her?"

I watched as she folded her arms over her chest and looked at me.

I jumped up. "As your king I demand you bring me to my mother," I growled angrily.

She laughed. "Calm down. Of course you can see her. I can arrange for you to be taken to her tomorrow morning."

My heart skipped with joy. "Thank you!" I hugged her quickly.

"There's a condition though."

I pulled away and looked at her. "Anything," I smiled.

"In return, you will have to focus and work diligently during your training. No slacking."

I nodded without hesitation. "I promise."

"Good," she smiled. "That means you'll need plenty of rest. So, I'll leave you to sleep."

"Thank you Nadine. Truly," I smiled at her.

"Don't thank me. You demanded me to do it, remember?" she gave me a teasing smirk before turning and walking away.

I felt my cheeks turn red with embarrassment.

She left without another word.

I turned to my balcony and walked outside. My eyes met the sight of the lake behind the palace and the dark silhouette of the mountains beyond it.

"Mama," I whispered.

I sat on the floor and gazed out upon the sky for a while. I felt the tears begin to trickle down my face. My heart tightened. She was okay. She was alive. After all this time that I'd worried, it was such a relief to know she was okay.

How could I possibly sleep now? I was too anxious to see her. I missed her so much it hurt beyond any other pain I could experience.

"I'm so sorry."

I bowed my head as my mind filled with the thoughts of what I've done. I know it was foolish to believe my mother would act any strange way against me. I'd expect her to be more than happy to see me. But, a part of me believed she'd be somewhat disappointed in me. I was disappointed in me for going against her wishes. She only ever asked one thing of me and I'd betrayed her. But, was it for the best? Without my actions, all of these events wouldn't have happened. Without me, the guys wouldn't be on their way home soon. These people wouldn't have hope.

My mother would be proud of me. She'd be sorry for keeping me in the dark for so long. But, it wasn't her fault things got so bad. I forgave her for not telling me. For everything. I just wanted to see her.

"I'm coming mama."