A Night-Long Lament

locked away

(Namjoon POV)

The nail-biting silence that Y/N has made me go insane. I expected a scream or some sort of objection, but there was none. She stood there quietly, listening to every single word that crushes her demeanor. 

"I--" I begin to say as Father leaves the room, but Hoseok knees me straight in the gut. 

"Look what you've done! She's innocent you know!" Hoseok cries as Jungkook attempts to halt him.

"H-Hyung, I was just suggesting--" 

Hoseok shoves Jungkook off of him and scoffs. "Suggesting? Would you do the same to Yuna? Or any of us?" Hoseok sighs. "I'm getting the impression you just don't like her." 

"H-Hyung, I--" 

Jin appears from behind me and seizes my shoulder. "I suggest you keep quiet for now, Hoseok is quite... frightening when enraged." 

As Jin leaves, I grip his arm. "How long?" I breathe.

He sighs and pats my shoulder. "Don't feel guilty, though it was your proposal, it was father's approval."

Jin nods and walks away, leaving me in the center of madness. Everyone either looks puzzled or furious. 

In hopes of undoing my action, I run after my father to try to alter his mindset. 

"Father!" I shout from down the hall. He looks back at me and smirks. 

"My son, what is the matter? Feeling guilty already?" he approaches me with his infamous sinister atmosphere, casting a sensation that makes me shrivel. "You made very credible claims, well done." Then he mumbles, "At least I have one clever son."  

The remark agitates me. Though it wasn't directed at me, it pained me.

"F-Father, my brothers are just as intellectual as I--" I begin to retort, but he clears his throat, keeping me in check.

"You said something?" He booms from above me. I quickly shake my head.

With that, he leaves with the last word.

~~~~~~~ 

It was now nightfall and no word of Y/N had gotten released yet. During supper, my brothers had conversed, but not with me. Assuming they're still upset with me, I grab my full plate of food and leave the room.

If I could just bring this to Y/N...

I search the castle for about 20 minutes and finally manage to encounter the dungeon corridor. Dark, musty, and ominous. As far as I knew, we held no one down here, so there's no way it had been properly cleaned or disinfected. 

Sin swarming over me, I see a cell emitting a glow. Catching my breath, I step in front of the cell. 

"Y-Y/N-ah..." I say quietly enough for her to hear. 

Her delicate head perks up at her name and searches me with her eyes.

"Prince?" She says clearly showing signs of confusion.

I kneel down to hand her the plate, but she shakes her head. 

"Please, eat. I'll be ok for now." Y/N tells.

"I insist, please eat, it's the least I can do for putting you in here..." I reply, face full of regret.

Y/N gives a small nod and begins to munch on her food. 

"W... Why did you come here?"

I glance at the cell and sigh. "Y/N, I... I'm really sorry that I put you in here. This was unquestionably not my intention, I-I was only anxious about Hoseok-Hyung and I put together irrational conjectures."

Y/N lets out a tired laugh and looks up at me. "It's ok, Prince. I'm sure you were just looking out for your brothers." 

She... forgave me?

"But please, take your plate and leave." She stands up from her seat and approaches me. "You might get caught."

Y/N grabs my hand and places the plate along with the chopsticks in it. 

"But--" I begin to say but she shushes me as she points to the exit.

I nod and scurry out the exit just before I overhear heavy footsteps. 

Shoot

Hastily stepping around a corner, I see my father pass through the corridor. I know he's quite a fallacious man, so I can't help but try to prevent anything rash from occurring. 

"Father!" I shout.

With a flash of his eyes, he turns back to look at me. 

"Namjoon?"

He stares at me in confusion, but his expression soon contorts into pure rage. "What the hell are you doing down here?! How did you even know-- Namjoon, get out before I make you." He booms from above me. "Don't make me do what I did to Jin--" 

The remaining sanity in my father's eyes completely dissipate. He grabs me by the collar and shoves me to the opposite side of the hall. Aching in pain, I clutch my arm. Just then, the figure of him stands over me. 

"You're fortunate. Now scram before anything severe happens." He then proceeds to kick me into the wall to clear his pathway. 

I shut my eyes in pain.

At least Y/N's ok.