Queen of Roses

44) Last Goodbyes

Thousands of footsteps marched in unison to stand in neatly organized lines outside the Busan gates, the sound of heavy boots on hard pavement filling the otherwise silent morning. The sun had barely begun to rise above stormy dark clouds when the group had been forced to wake up and prepare for departure. Now, with their bags packed and bodies covered in steel, protective armor, they all waited patiently in front of the ocean harbour as Jungkook approached them with long rows of loyal warriors following closely behind him.

Jungkook did not smirk or mutter any sarcastic jokes, nor did Taehyung glare at him the way he normally would on any other day. There was a thick tension hovering in the air all around them – a seriousness overtaking everyone's features, a grimness that precipitated any war. The fear of the unknown and prospect of death had crushed any animosity which remained among any of the members of their group. With the ensuing war, everyone had reached the mutual consensus to put the past behind them. After all, the last thing they needed was more enemies on an already unfair battlefield.

They only had each other. And their best chance of survival rested on their ability to trust and depend on one another.

Jungkook, in his all black-clad uniform and matching black armour, came to a halt in front of Chaeyoung. Only offering a nod as a greeting, he then whirled around on his chestnut-coloured horse and raised one hand. Immediately all 10,000 warriors marched to a halt a few steps in front of them. As Chaeyoung, her nine companions, and Jungkook faced the stoic, brawny soldiers who awaited their commands, a tense silence fell upon them.

After a few long seconds, Jungkook cleared his throat.

"Attention!" he commanded in a loud, authoritative voice. Slowly, he paced from one end of the organized rows of men to the other as he addressed the crowd, "the journey you are about to embark on will be long. It will be exhausting, it will be gruesome, and it will be painful. But this is what you have spent your entire lives training for. The ten people you see in front of you will be your leaders, your commanders: Namjoon, Taeyong, Jennie, Seokjin, Taehyung, Chaeyoung, Lisa, Jimin, Yoongi, and Jisoo. You will show them the same loyalty and respect that you show me. As you have all witnessed yesterday, they have earned that right."

He returned to his spot in between Chaeyoung and Jimin and gestured for Chaeyoung to continue the speech, finally allowing a ghost of a smile to cross his lips when she began to clear her throat in the same manner he had and prepared to give her very first battle speech.

"In a week, you will enter a battlefield that may appear unbalanced. You may feel overpowered and begin to think the war has been lost before it even begins," she spoke in a clear firm voice, the tone reminding her eerily of her late father's, "I want you to erase these thoughts from the corners of your minds and fight as if you hold the fate of this country in your hands. Because you do."

Simultaneously, each of them stomped once to indicate their understanding, the sound causing the ground to quiver beneath them.

"All 10,000 of you will be travelling via ship later this afternoon to the battlefield of Gaegyeong," Jimin explained, "so for now, you may help us load the ships and say your last goodbyes to your families. We sail at sundown."

Slowly, the men began to scatter about, the majority of them beginning to load horses and army provisions onto the ships while the rest reunited with their families at the gates for a brief farewell.

A numbing stab of guilt pierced Chaeyoung's heart as she watched the men embrace their loved ones for what could very well be the last time. The cries of children being torn from their fathers echoed loudly in her ears and every tear shed from their wives, their lovers, their parents, their siblings, their friends, caused her stomach to sink further with dread. It was a scene filled with so much love and pain all at once, a beautifully tragic memory.