#₊˚⊹🔮 fated pair/soulmate!au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lettersfromaphrodite · 1 year

Text

«do you believe in fate?»

― pairing : Hongjoong x fem! reader ― content warnings : soulmates au, angst with a happy ending, magic au, super soft smut, very soft sapphic kiss, kinda avatar au, reader uses the force (not really, but also kinda a bit), locations and sceneries are inspired from Black Desert Online as always , big LOTR reference cause I'ma huge tolkien nerd,⚠️ mention of violence, mention of torture, mention of death, , mention of panic attacks, temporary major character death, mentions of pregancy, mentions of throwing up⚠️ ― word count : 42k ― notes : she's back. she's longer. she's a one shot // special thank you to my girlies @stressedfranya and @helav98, this fic wouldn't have existed if not for your support and our continuous brainstorming // Lea's character is inspired from my lovely and beloved @minbiny, aka my wonderful soulmate.

― notes : take a look at the deities! Karanda - Goddess of Air // Garmoth - God of Fire // Vell - God of Water // Offin - Goddess of Earth // Kzarka - God of Rot and Corruption // credits for the deities amazing gifsets and pics: @unikornu

― summary :

Blinded by the desire of revenge, you find yourself travelling with a group of mercenaries while pretending to be a boy. Magic, love, friendship, lies and secrets are tightly intertwined in what will be both your fate and the destiny of countless other people.

SEQUEL 🔮 : «flames to dust.»

PROLOGUE

Magic was pretty common in the world; actually, some could even say it had somehow became an essential resource in the everyday life. During the years, everyone had slowly but inevitably got used to it, and even if people weren’t born with the natural gift of magic – after few years of constant practice, they could still learn how to perform few simple spells.

However, elemental magic was definitely not that common. Elemental magic meant that there were people who were born not only with the gift of magic, but also with the blessing of controlling one of the four elements.

“Children of Nature,” they were called; those who could effortlessly bend one of the four elements to their will.

Fire, Air, Earth, Water: four were the deities who gave birth to their children, blessing – or cursing, them with a human form without almost never meeting them, but providing them with the gift of illimitate power.

Slowly, however, the admiration towards the children of Nature turned into envy, and the Serendia Shrine was created almost out of nowhere.

Situated at the foot of a mountain, the Shrine continued inside it, through long and narrow corridors and steel cages; no one knew where it ended, only that it was better to stay away from it. The Serendia Shrine was populated by disciples who could not use elemental magic but they irremediably craved it, doing everything to snatch it from those who naturally possessed this gift. There were numerous experiments conducted on kidnapped people; numerous failed attempts had been made until, after many years of fatigue and wasted blood, the disciples managed to find a solution to be able to use elemental magic even if they did not possess the natural gift: magic crystals.

This is where you, child of Air with very few memories of your past, come into play. The only memories you have are those in which you were snatched away from your mother’s embrace, to be carried into the Serendia Shrine against your will by none other than their leader: your father. After long years of suffering, your hatred got the best of you and therefore you decided to escape, stealing one of the disciples’ black and red robe and killing any and every disciple which had questioned your way out.

As your steps conducted you outside and you realized you were free, your only goal became the one of becoming strong enough to destroy the Shrine once and for all. Blinded by the desire of revenge, you find yourself travelling with a group of eight mysterious mercenaries while pretending to be a boy. Magic, love, friendship, lies and secrets are tightly intertwined in what will be both your fate and the destiny of countless other people.

Will you be strong enough?

CHAPTER I

“Come on,” you thought, urging yourself to walk a little faster, even if you had already put a more than reassuring distance between you and the Serendia Shrine; the feeling of walking out of its rocky and humid walls as a free woman was something you’ll probably remember for the rest of your days, since you’ve been spending there almost your whole life.

With your hair safely tied up into a loose braid you hid your identity under a worn cape, ready to face the world, ready to become stronger; you managed to steal some clothes on your way out – nothing too elaborate, just a pair of leather pants, a pair of boots, a cotton shirt and a jacket. If you were lucky, you could have given the impression of being a boy since you’ve heard tremendous stories about what could happen to girls which travelled by themselves.

However, despite the fact that it wasn’t the first time you were seeing the world outside the Shrine, you had to reluctantly admit to yourself that you didn’t know much about it and therefore, you deduced that first of all, you had to learn how to survive on your own. Honestly, you were thankful to one of the prisoners you met in the Shrine for teaching you a curious and yet useful spell: not only your hood wasn't going to move from your head but your features would have been percieved as a faint blur by the people trying to peek into it. Of course, they wouldn't think you were some kind of monster who jumped straight out a horror folklore legend, instead, they would simply forget your features as soon as they looked away from your face. Clearly, the effect of the spell would vanish as soon as you took off your hood. «Why are you teaching this to me?» you had curiously asked back then. «Girls protect girls, little one.» the lady had replied without further explanation, and you decided not to ask any further questions.

During the years spent as a prisoner, there were many people – younger or older, with whom you somehow managed to become friends with, despite you already knew about their fate; anyone who was taken prisoner by the Shrine’s disciples would have never gotten out of it.

The Shrine’s disciples managed to find a way to absorb elemental magic directly from those who had said blessing, only to transfuse it into crystals, which in turn were set in wooden staffs or otherwise, inserted into jewels that they exhibited above their vests in a clear warning of what would have happened. Although they knew what awaited them, the children of Nature you’ve met have always been kind to you, telling you about the outside world as best as they could, but also, telling you about their villages; it was curious, how during the years you’ve felt the desire of revenge slowly and steadily growing inside you until you were so blinded by it that you decided to run away towards an uncertain fate. The belief of you alone avenging or saving all of them was surely stupid and selfish, but it was the only thing you could hold on to at the moment.

The sound of the wind gently moving the leaves and the songs of nocturnal animals were your only source of company as you spent the night roaming free around the woods while looking for the nearest village; you were sure you could have either found some help, or managed to steal some money to get yourself some food and – or, a shelter for few days.

As if your steps were being led by some sort of invisible thread pulling on your fingers, you made your way careful not to trip on any tree root, until a small bonfire caught your attention; using your elemental magic, you made it so that your footsteps were soundless, so that you could approach the small group laying around it without alerting anyone of them.

Carefully making your way towards them, you hid behind the trees, while trying to briefly study the situation: apparently, all of them were sleeping and – strangely enough, no one was keeping guard. It was a small group, you noticed, seven people were spreaded around the bonfire while sleeping in various positions; you furrowed your brows for a moment with an incredulous smile, aware that this could have indeed been an excellent occasion to steal some of their money and flee. As cautious as you could be, you hesitantly walked towards one of them, kneeling next to him and slowly moving the boy’s cape from his sleeping frame just enough to uncover his waist, hoping he kept his money attached to his belt.

“Turns out, boys are predictable,” you thought briefly, as you quickly untied the leather cords connecting the small bag containing the coins to his belt.

However, as you felt something cold pressed against your neck, you petrified; as your eyes immediately counted again the number of boys sleeping, you shut your eyes, silently cursing your own naivety for not having suspected that one of them could have simply hidden himself.

«You might want to put that back down.» someone said from behind you, and you immediately tossed the small bag on the floor with a scoff, waking up the boy in front of you as well.

Turns out, the people in the group you were trying to rob were eight, and you ended up with your wrists tightly tied up with an unfamiliar rope made with some kind of tree root; anytime you tried tugging on it with all your strength, the roots seemed to get tighter instead of loosen, and eventually you decided to give up with a strained hiss, your wrists falling on your lap as you sat cross legged on the floor.

«Nice done, Jongho.» a boy with faint red hair was stretching his arms upwards, as he praised the boy which had earlier pointed a blade to your neck.

Now, the current situation was not how you expected for your new life to start; you quickly studied your surroundings, noticing with deject that the chances of you managing to escape were equivalent to zero, since they were basically standing in circle around you.

«Thinking about running away?» the boy with faint red hair scoffed with an amused smile, re-arranging the eyepatch on his right eye, «Not so smart, aren’t you?» you felt your cheeks heaten both in shame and both with the desire to kick him in the face, but sadly enough, you couldn’t do any of the sort.

Despite the fact that you were in the middle of the woods during a starless night, somehow, you could perfectly see all of them; it was almost as if the bonfire behind you was burning a little brighter than before.

«Cut it out, Hongjoong,» an exasperated groan came from somewhere on your left, and a slim, tall boy with raven black hair walked towards your direction, only to crouch down in front of you; his features were sharp, and he most definitely looked handsome.

Even if the fact that he was extremely wary of your presence was clearly written in his eyes, he tried to give you a gentle and reassuring smile. The boy kept curiously try to meet your gaze from under your hood, action which you meticulously avoided, due to your head continuously turning in some other different direction, «I don't see any weapon on him, he probably ran away from somewhere.» he finally commented.

Secretly, you smiled to yourself; they didn’t realize you were a girl, and they didn't notice your spell, meaning that your plan succeeded at least in one small detail; you felt Hongjoong’ s gaze fixed on you, in the meticulous attempt to study any and everyone of your moves.

«Did you run away from your village?» the nice boy tried again, noticing how you seemed kinda anxious as you were nervously playing with your fingertips - as much as the ropes allowed you to, and you simply nodded at him, hoping he wouldn't question you further since, honestly, you thought you had a little more time to come up with an actual elaborated lie about your whole life.

«Trying your luck with us?» a lively voice giggled, before an unfamiliar face immediately appeared next to the boy already in front of you; he was staring at you with narrow and calculative eyes and a cunning smile, as he sat on the grass while mirroring your cross-legged position, «Do you even know who we are?» he questioned, tilting his head. Among the group, he was probably the one with the most outstanding hairstyle: longish black hair were falling on his eyes and bright red highlights were covering the top part of his head. The mere tone of his voice was more than enough to send shivers down your spine; of course you didn’t know who these people were, you’ve been living in a Shrine until few hours earlier, how could you?

As you quickly shook your head keeping your eyes locked on the ground, you didn’t notice the two boys in front of you exchanging a doubtful gaze; the boy with black hair reached out in order to take the hood off of your face, and instinctively, you immediately bent your head and covered it with your tied wrists. Now that you weren’t looking at them anymore, you were completely oblivious that the group was glancing at each other with concerned and puzzled gazes.

«It’s okay, we won’t remove it,» Hongjoong spoke, his voice sounding imperceptibly gentler – almost as if he took pity on you, «but you’re still coming with us.»

«What for?» a short boy with blonde hair questioned with a sigh, not attempting to hide his annoyed voice.

«I have a bad feeling about this,» Hongjoong simply said, nodding towards your direction, «he’ll stay with us until we’ll arrive at the Capital, then we'll part ways.»

«Can we go back to sleep, now?» a tall, blonde boy questioned, stretching his arms over his head with a tired yawn; Hongjoong simply nodded at him, allowing everyone to go back to sleep, since he would have kept watch.

Needless to say, even if few hours were remaining until dawn, you didn’t close your eyes for a second; aware that Hongjoong’s gaze was sometimes glancing at you, you kept yours strictly on the bonfire, while a whirlwind of thoughts were running through your mind.

Even thought they saw that you didn’t carry any kind of weapon with you, for all they knew, you could have been able to use elemental magic, thing which made you a slight threat; therefore, the fact that they seemed so relaxed about your presence – not bothering to tie you up beside the weird handcuffs around your wrists, made you actually wonder who these people were and how dangerous they could be.

Morning came rather quickly, and as the group had completely woken up, they started to formally introduce themselves to you as they were cooking a small and humble ratio of breakfast.

«Don’t you have a name?» San – the boy with the outstanding hairstyle, questioned while tilting his head towards you.

“Now, that’s a problem,” you thought; of course you had a name, but if you actually introduced yourself, they would have easily found out the truth, and who knows what would have happened if they found out you were lying about your identity.

Somehow, shaking your head with a weak movement seemed the best solution, and from the corner of your eyes, you saw Hongjoong snorting in obvious disbelief, clearly not believing you.

«How come you don’t?» Mingi – a blonde tall boy, asked you while munching on a piece of bread; unlike Hongjoong, he seemed to believe you.

«I just don’t.» you said, forcing your voice to come out a little rougher in order to actually pretend you were a boy; you realized that the most of them were doubting you, you couldn’t actually blame them for being wary of your sudden appearance.

Before they could question you even further, a small loaf of bread appeared in front of your eyes, and your head snapped towards your left; Yunho had his hand outstretched, waiting for you to take it while keeping a serious expression.

«Do we have enough food to share, now?» Wooyoung questioned his friend, running a hand through his raven black hair.

«Quit it, Wooyoung,» he immediately retorted, «his stomach is begging for food, I can hear it from over here.» Yunho glanced back at you, and you took the loaf he was handing you and quickly bit into it, ignoring your own embarrassment about someone hearing your stomach rumble since you couldn’t remember the last time you ate.

«Well, he’s definitely not a threat,» Yeosang snorted, and you stopped munching on your food, confused at his sudden statement, «it could have been poisoned, for all you know.» he pointed out, and you had to refrain yourself from spitting the food on the ground as fast as you could.

«It’s not like we all poison people’s food; not everyone is a scheming snake like you, Yeosang.» Jongho mumbled, not taking his attention from his breakfast.

From the other side of the bonfire, your eyes naturally glanced towards Hongjoong, which was mumbling something to Seonghwa; they seemed to have a small argument which you obviously couldn’t hear. You noticed Hongjoong’s gaze glance towards the woods behind Seonghwa, and as you tried to study the gold patterns embroided on his eyepatch, you wondered which one of them was the leader of the group. Judging from what you saw, Seonghwa was definitely nice and reliable, but judging by what happened during the night, you deduced that Hongjoong must have been their leader.

Clearly, you were oblivious about the fat that during their small argument Hongjoong and Seonghwa hypothesized about who you could be and where you could have have ran away from. Hongjoong’s gaze had wondered south, as a well defined image briefly flashed through his mind: a circular square with a small sacrificial altar in the centre, statues of faceless hooded disciples holding crystals, and a dark entrance at the foot of a mountain.

As soon as breakfast started, it eventually ended, and you found yourself hesitantly walking with them towards the spot where they carefully hid their horses. Something snapped inside you, just like during the long years of your captivity you had managed to learn to understand who you could trust and you couldn’t; it was strange how you felt that - with time, you could somehow eventually grow to trust a bunch of mysterious and threatening strangers about whom you didn’t know anything, strangers who, moreover were still keeping you tied up.

«He’ll ride with me,» Hongjoong simply stated before the others could ask anything, climbing on his horse and leaning back on his saddle in order to give you enough space to sit in front of him; you stood there, motionless, oblivious on how you were supposed to get up when your wrists were tied. Also, if you were to be honest, you’ve never been on a horse – nor you’ve ever seen one up close, and you were quite scared.

«I can’t believe this,» Hongjoong sighed, but eventually outstretched his hand towards you, waiting for you to take it, so that he could help you climb on; Hongjoong’s hand was incredibly warm, and it sent a weird feeling you couldn’t decipher through your soul since, as soon as your hands came in contact, he had roughly pulled you up.

Needless to say, you’ve never been close to anyone in your life, let alone sharing a saddle on top of a horse; you tried to press yourself towards the front part of the leather saddle as much as you could, in order to leave some space between the two of you, thing which you had to immediately give up as soon as Hongjoong urged the horse to move forwards.

After hours spent travelling at a quick pace, you still refused to give up on gripping at the saddle’s horn with your left hand as if your life depended on it; you were sure you wouldn’t have fallen off the horse since Hongjoong’s arms were around you in order to hold the reigns but still, you were still scared.

«If you don’t stop squirming, I’ll kick you down myself.» Hongjoong’s voice said from behind you, and if you hadn’t been so close, you would have never heard it due to the strong wind hitting your faces; you sighed, tightening your hands on the saddle in a desperate attempt not to fall off, but also in the attempt of not turning around and punch the boy right into his face.

The sun was shining on the first day of your new life, as you wondered what did you get yourself into.

CHAPTER II

Riding a horse was probably one of the worst experiences of your whole life, and judging what you've been through, this was quite a sentence; although Hongjoong had always paid attention and tried not to ride too fast, he also had prevented you from falling off the saddle more times than he could have ever imagined.

«Where did you even live?» you heard him mutter with incredulous stupor as Seonghwa had to help you get off the horse anytime you stopped.

«Where did he learn his manners?» you mumbled back once, only for Seonghwa to hear, who simply laughed at your comment.

The travel towards the Capital had lasted for a whole day, and you and Hongjoong kept occasionally bickering like cat and dog; you obviously couldn’t know that no one had ever challenged Hongjoong’s authority at the point of talking back anytime he said something, and therefore, you couldn’t know that the rest of the group found this new source of entertainment more than amusing.

Although the reason why you didn’t want to take your hood off in front of them remained a mystery, but somehow, they still respected it.

«Maybe he has a huge scar on his face.» Mingi had supposed, but even if you shook your head to say he was wrong, no one ever tried to look too much into it; you had your reasons for not wanting to reveal your identity, and somehow they seemed to respect it, even if they were still wary of your presence.

Seonghwa helped you climb down your horse as soon as you reached the Capital’s stables, his eyes trying to study as much as he could the facial features your hood didn’t manage to hide.

«Are you sure you’re going to be okay?» Seonghwa questioned you, as Hongjoong was busy paying the stable keeper; you eyed him questioningly, not used to any kind of concern, especially since you’ve spent no more than one day with them. You didn’t know how to honestly answer to him and therefore you decided to nod, and eventually, you and the others parted ways.

«I hate to repeat myself,» you heard Hongjoong say to the others, «but I have a really bad feeling about this.» whether anyone answered him or not, you didn’t know, since you turned left in the first alleyway you saw.

Despite all the stories you’ve heard while you were living in the Shrine, the way you imagined the Capital did not correspond to reality in the least; wealth and poverty coexisted in the same reality as a spiral that continued to intertwine and influence each other. You had no idea about how a riot could be happening in a part of town, and immediately afterwards you could hear lively voices and loud chattering coming from a banquet happening in a private garden, but that was exactly what was happening.

The sun of a blossoming spring shone in the sky and on your footsteps as you made your way through the alleyways walked by the most bizarre people; you didn’t know where you were going, nor what you were going to do but, since it was early in the afternoon, you figured out that you could always explore a little bit.

From the moment you had parted ways, the group agreed that the only way to find out whether you were lying or hiding something was to let an expert assassin follow your every step and therefore, unbeknownst to you, your steps were meticulously followed by someone more agile and silent than the fog that quietly settles on the countrysides during the night; San – under Hongjoong’s order, was following you around with extreme precision, careful not to alert anyone else about his ministrations.

Despite few hours had gone by, however, San was extremely bored; not only you were aimlessly strolling around the city, but you didn’t seem to have any destination in mind. San noticed how easily you ended up getting lost, meaning that you absolutely weren’t familiar with the city and therefore, you couldn’t be a spy. He also noticed how frequently you stopped to in order to admire the trivial things: statues, columns carved in a particular way, wandering musicians singing in small squares and entertaining all sort of people. San was indeed quite puzzled at the sight, because it was almost as if you've almost never what the outside world looked like - it couldn't be, right?

Hongjoong’s instinct was close to being infallible but still, during the hours he had spent following you around, San couldn’t understand why would his leader be so worried about his own presentiments; only when he saw you turn towards the direction of the square where he had to meet with Hongjoongin order to report what he had found out, San’s sudden smile was safely protected by the shadows.

«Well, little hood,» he mumbled to himself, «could it be that fate is leading your path?»

The capital was so beautiful that at times it took your breath away; you were completely aware about the fact that you spent almost half an hour staring at the marble statue in the main square, but it was almost as if you couldn’t take your eyes off of it. For a start, it was gigantic, almost completely carved from white marble; the figure of a warrior on a horse was holding a golden spear which was pointed at the figure of a dragon lying on the ground. As your eyes meticulously studied it, you wondered if dragons really existed; well, anything could have been possible, since you had spent the most of your life locked away.

Eventually, as you noticed that the colours of the sky were gradually becoming darker, you decided to take the alleyway on your left, once again as if it you were being pulled by an invisible force; your steps led you to another district, which you could easily identify as the local market.

To say that the market was humble was an understatement, your gaze stretched out between stalls of all kinds and people intent on negotiating for their purchases; once again, the different social classes seemed to live in a subspecies of fragile and tacit equilibrium that no one tried to shatter. With a dejected sigh you walked forwards, a wave of sadness clouding your senses since you’ve been really missing out on everyday life; a sudden harsh tug on your wrist forced you to stop, and you momentarily hissed at the pain of the stranger’s tight hold pressing over the faint bruises of the ropes you've been wearing all night.

«Don’t you know what we do to thieves around here?» a gruff voice addressed you, and you panicked; the man was easily towering over you, and his clothes seemed to be of a fairly fine fabric.

«I didn’t steal anything!» you retorted immediately, noticing how this small scene had caught the attention of few people which were standing around you. To put it simply, you were terrified; not only you were innocent, you didn’t understand how you could have been blamed when you tried to avoid walking too close to the vendor’s tables.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe not, but after few everlasting minutes of arguing about your innocence, a way too familiar voice called the man out.

«You should let him go, before my boss finds out - you know, dragons have a pretty good hearing.» your head snapped on your right, where you saw San’s slim figure sitting on the booth full of fabric that the man had momentarily left unattended in order to claim that you had stolen something from him. San briefly winked at you in recognition, even thought he couldn’t completely be sure that your eyes met, since you had been more than careful about always wearing your hood.

«Is he one of your crew?» the man’s gruff and accusatory tone had completely disappeared as he turned his attention towards San, and you curiously noticed how he seemed to have paled at the sight.

Even thought your wrist was still in a vice hold, your gaze shifted between him and San; to earn such a scared reaction, who exactly did you travel with?

«You should stop using these tricks, they’re getting old.» you heard Hongjoong’s voice suddenly said, and you turned your head towards him – which almost appeared out of nowhere.

Hongjoong’s faint red hair was gently moved by the late afternoon breeze, and the gold embroidery on the eyepatch he was wearing on his right eye almost seemed to glow under the sunlight. His features were delicate and well defined, and the serious and menacing gaze with which he was staring at the merchant was enough to send chills down your spine; for the first time, you had to admit to yourself that he was indeed handsome.

«You might be the one using tricks, Dragon,» the merchant spat, and since your gaze was still locked on Hongjoong, you saw that he raised his left eyebrow and rolled his eyes in annoyance, «the boy is a thief, and thieves must-»

«Is he saying the truth?» Hongjoong questioned you, cutting off the man’s sentence; his gaze burned into yours and despite his tone wasn’t as harsh as the one he had used to refer to the man, it was still strict.

«No, I didn’t!» you immediately admitted, and Hongjoong glanced at the man once again.

«I can’t really put into words how annoying you are, Alustin,» Hongjoong sighed, and started walking forward; «you know, I could always alert the authorities about your… illegal interests.» Hongjoong chuckled as he easily circled you while walking with a slow pace, halting his steps only when he was somehow standing between you and the merchant – Alustin.

«A mercenary alerting authorities? Is that another trick of yours?» Alustin spat, and Hongjoong didn’t miss your pained hiss, as the man seemed to have tightened his fist around your wrist once again.

«You’re probably confused: as a mercenary, I currently work for the Capital’s Chief,» Hongjoong explained, slowly uttering each word as if he was talking to a child and not to a man twice his age, «but you, you’re the leader of the Merchants’ Guild; can you imagine how big the scandal would be?» with a pleased smirk, Hongjoong slowly lifted his hand and circled Alustin’s left wrist; immediately, Alustin let go of your wrist, as if he had been burned by an incandescent flame; you stared at him in confusion, since you didn’t notice any particularly different feeling on your skin.

«You can’t always act like you own the place, Dragon.» Alustin spat with arrogance, but by now, Hongjoong had already started to walk away, turning his head a little bit only to motion to both you and San to follow him, order to which you immediately complied.

Alustin’s voice was just a muffled noise now lost among the sea of people; your gaze was locked on Hongjoong’s shoulders as he was walking few steps ahead you and San, which was walking next to you with his fingers intertwined behind his nape and his elbows towards the sky.

The scene kept replaying in your mind as your heart was still hammering in your chest, your thoughts running wild, especially towards a very special way that Alustin used to address Hongjoong.

«Why did he call him like that?» you questioned San, hoping that Hongjoong wouldn’t hear you.

«Hm?» San hummed, momentarily confused at your sudden question.

«Why did he call him “Dragon”?» you asked, “is he a child of fire?” you thought.

«It’s not for me to tell,» San shrugged, «eventually, he’ll tell you about it at some point.» San’s answer was short, but yet you completely understood what he meant; after all, you were the one hiding everything about you from the world since you didn’t know who you could trust.

«How did you know I needed help?» you questioned him again few moments later, not completely sure whether you wanted to know; you’ve heard that they were mercenaries, and therefore, you had quite an idea of how dangerous they could be.

San shrugged again, a mysterious smile plastered on his lips, «I don’t know, little hood,» he quickly glanced towards you, «must have been fate.»

Once the streets had gradually emptied of people, you noticed that Hongjoong was heading towards an inn, probably in order to meet up with the others; as soon as you were in front of the heavy wooden door, Hongjoong kept it open for you and San to get in, mumbling a quiet «don’t cause troubles,» before eventually closing the door behind himself.

Well, you were right; both Hongjoong and San were meeting their friends at the inn and you were sure you were going to remember the others’ faces for a long time; Mingi, Yunho and Wooyoung widened their eyes in surprise, while Seonghwa and Jongho scoffed while somehow hiding a smile.

«I knew it!» Yeosang said, clapping his hands once; he had been the only one to actually say something about the fact that you didn’t manage to spend a day by yourself, «You lost, buddy!» he added, lifting the palm of his hands towards Mingi, which reached for his pocket money with a groan; you followed the action with furrowed brows, did they bet on you?

As you finally were having dinner, Seonghwa briefly met your gaze from across the table, and with a sly smile, he placed his elbows on the wooden surface, only to delicately place his chin on the palm of his hands.

«So, Hongjoong, what does it mean?» he questioned, looking at his leader with an amused expression; Hongjoong sighed, rubbing his temples. He was aware that it was a bit too late for thinking about the consequences of saving you again, but he couldn’t simply ignore you back then.

Not like he could leave you wandering all alone through the Capital, considering what had happened few minutes earlier; as you waited for his answer, your gaze was locked on Hongjoong, which was quietly sipping on his chalice of beer as he stared at the door, lost in thoughts.

San had already reported what he saw to Hongjoong, and the young boy definitely understood that you were too naive to be a spy; slowly, the suspect of you being a former prisoner of the Serendia Shrine was forming in his thoughts, but only time could have confirmed it. There was some strange pull that was convincing him to keep you with them; despite he didn’t know how things would have turned out, he decided to follow his instinct, as he always did.

«He’ll stay with us.» Hongjoong said at last, and your heart picked up pace; for a brief moment, San throw one arm over your shoulder with an amused laugh, telling the others that «what did I tell you?», and you wondered why Wooyoung had briefly glanced at you with narrowed eyes.

«So, you adopted another one?» Yunho joked, and Hongjoong scoffed while hiding a smile.

«Can you use magic?» Wooyoung questioned you, and you almost choked on the water you were finally drinking; of course you could, you were a child of Air, but despite the fact that they had just saved you and offered you to stay with them, you didn’t know whether you could trust them.

«A little bit,» you answered him, «just some basic healing spells.» luckily, they seemed pleased with your answer; since healing magic could definitely come in hand.

«Can you fight?» Yunho curiously asked, and you shook your head; sadly, you were forced to admit to yourself that from that point of view you were useless, and you hoped that it didn’t influence Hongjoong’s decision to keep you with them.

«We’ll teach you, don't worry.» Jongho’s answer surprised you, and you found yourself nodding and thanking them.

Your visit to the capital ended the following morning; you were surprised about the fact that they let you sleep in a room by yourself but once again, you realized that if they let you do something like that, it was because they already thought about the consequences.

Since from the moment you managed to escape the Serendia Shrine, you had decided that you were indeed a woman on a mission, you knew that risking to fight a whole group of mercenaries on your second day of freedom was definitely not in your agenda, and that night, you happily washed yourself – enjoying the feeling of finally taking off the bandages tightly wrapped around your chest, and fell asleep on a soft mattress, sleeping peacefully until dawn.

«I don’t get a horse?» you questioned, as your gaze repeatedly shifted towards Hongjoong’s outstretched hand and the empty part of the saddle in front of him.

«And risk you running away? Not a chance.» he answered, urging you to move by moving his fingertips; with a sigh, you let him help you, secretly glad that you somehow had a place to stay.

«Hurry up, or we’re leaving you here!» Wooyoung lively called out, as he was joining the others which were already riding in a slow pace towards the gates of the Capital.

«We’re coming!» Hongjoong answered back with a loud voice, only to lower his tone once again to talk to you, «Plus, you can’t even stay on a horse while I’m riding,» he chuckled, mocking you once you had completely seated on the horse; immediately, you turned your head left, his nose brushing against the exposed part of your cheek due to how close you were.

«I’ll throw you off.» you threatened, but Hongjoong simply laughed at you, urging the horse to move without further notice and therefore, causing you to gasp loudly and immediately turn your attention forwards.

As your only thoughts were to carefully keep your identity hidden and not to fall off the horse, you couldn’t help but wonder why the sensation of warmth caused by such a brief and unintentional contact seemed to linger on your cheek.

CHAPTER III

As much as you wanted to say that the two weeks spent travelling with Hongjoong and the others had flown by, unfortunately, you couldn’t. Even if you were somehow getting used to travel on a horse – Hongjoong would eventually hand you the reigns for short periods of time right before taking control of the horse as soon as he noticed you were about to panic, you still had to get used to sleep out in the open.

Honestly, you didn’t want to pry in their business; you knew that they had something important to deliver and therefore, you were travelling through unknown shortcuts which were far away from the main streets. Since you were grateful about the fact that not only you were travelling with them but – thanks to them, you were also learning how to fight, you figured out that they would eventually open up with you, telling you more about their business.

Even thought, this trip was proving itself to be a real adventure: for a start, hiding the fact that you were a girl was extremely difficult, especially because anytime you stopped for the night and the others eventually went to wash themselves at the nearby river, you always had to make up excuses in order to go alone. Needless to say, they slowly started to get suspicious, but in the end - thanks to Wooyoung’s suggestion, they simply grew to believe you were shy about your “body proportions”; you had no idea what they meant, but it was better than let them know the truth.

In addition, you realized pretty quickly that they were extremely strict teachers; you couldn’t exactly blame them, since they were mercenaries and therefore you were risking your life on a daily basis with them, but sometimes, you wish they could take it easy.

They were taking turns and, as cliché as it was, Hongjoong had been the first to teach you the basics. That morning, once he had neatly folded his jacket next to Mingi – which was curiously watching, Hongjoong stood in front of you with a smug smile, his hands on his waist as he studied your posture in complete silence.

«Come on, catch me.» he said, unmoving; you furrowed your brows in confusion, but eventually you tried to leap forwards as quickly as you could, only to see that as your hand was about to touch his shirt, he quickly took a step on his left.

«Hongjoong,» you called out through gritted teeth, «you’re not teaching me how to dodge, aren’t you?»

«Of course I am,» Hongjoong said, raising his eyebrow, «lesson number one: if you’re not sure you can face your opponent, try to dodge as much as you can, until you manage to get away.»

“He’s not completely wrong”, you admitted to yourself, your mind instinctively bringing up memories you so desperately wanted to bury; the thing is, you already knew how to dodge punches and kicks, you simply refused to admit it aloud.

Few days later, Seonghwa handed you his sword – your training had somehow become the group’s source of entertainment, and you found yourself facing Hongjoong while trying to multitask as your best: trying to actively respond to his actions, listen to his corrections, but also trying to listen the other’s suggestions about how you could easily tackle him on the ground.

Hongjoong occasionally laughed at his friend’s suggestion, and as much as you hated to admit, such a small action somehow was able to distract you – contrarily to him, which was able to counter your weak attacks while chatting with the others about the most various things.

«Is that your fighter stance?» Hongjoong had mumbled back then, before eventually letting go of his own sword in order to walk in front of you; he quickly reached out to grip at the helm of your sword over your hand, «tighten your grip, or you’ll sprain your wrist,» he nodded to himself as you immediately followed his instruction, before quietly walking behind you.

«Open up,» something in Hongjoong’s voice made your cheeks heathen in reflex, and you eventually followed his instructions as he gently tapped your calves with the tip of his boot, until he was satisfied about the position of your legs, «now, if we’re lucky, you won’t lose balance and fall like a toddler.» you heard him mumble as he eventually walked back in front of you.

Hongjoong was strict, and even if sometimes you could feel your limbs ache from how much you had trained, you knew he was doing it for your own good, and you silently appreciated it, keeping in your mind his various tips.

Few days later, however, San took his place as your teacher; and if you thought Hongjoong was strict, well, you were in for a surprise. Eventually, you had found out that San was an assassin before joining the group and therefore, he was the best teacher if you ever considered playing dirty during a fight.

«Anytime you draw your sword, you fight in order to get out of it alive, understood, little hood?» San had said one day, after disarming you in less than five minutes and pointing one of his two short swords to your throat; you nodded at him, and he hummed with a satisfied grin, before helping you up.

«Go, little hood, fuck him up!» Yeosang had cheered from near you, and you briefly chuckled at the sudden comment.

Since you told them that you didn’t have a name, “little hood” had slowly become yours, and much to your surprise, you didn’t hate it. Even though your real name hasn’t been pronounced out loud for years, to you “little hood” felt like a nickname, and the fact that they actually decided to adopt San’s suggestion to call you like that instead of referring you as “boy” or “you, there”, somehow made you realize that maybe, they were warming up to your presence.

Eventually, day after day, your fighting teacher kept changing; you realized it was to let you understand as quickly as you could that everyone had his fighting style and everyone was fighting following their own rules, and as much as you were grateful, you found it incredibly difficult to win even a single match against them.

Hongjoong fought using two swords, they weren’t particularly long, but they forced you to constantly keep attention to his movements; he would have never admit it out loud, but sometimes, he decided to use only one of his swords in order to go easy on you.

Seonghwa’s fighting style was incredibly elegant; although he was an archer and therefore specialized in ranged combat and completely used to cover his friend’s backs, he was also a challenge while he used a dagger during hand-to-hand combat.

Wooyoung was an archer as well, but contrarily to Seonghwa, his fighting style consisted into dodging his opponent’s movement, partially to tire them out, partially to study their fighting style and eventual weak point.

Yeosang was also an archer, and his hand-to-hand fighting style was exactly like Wooyoung, with the only exception that he was the only alchemist of the group and therefore, he always made sure that his weapons were covered either with poison or with special stones, which could inflict a serious damage to his opponents. Needless to say, he was in charge to enchant his friends’ weapons as well.

Yunho was the only one fighting with a longsword; he was taller than the others were and therefore, his physique enabled him to handle such a large and heavy weapon with extreme ease.

Mingi was the only one fighting using a spear; it was probably one of the most difficult opponents, since you had to constantly be aware about the fact that he could easily be a threat from a distance as much that he was during hand-to-hand combat. Mingi – just like San, was of the idea that you had to had to learn how to fight dirty, but also, to defend yourself from the most various dishonest tricks which he eventually tried on you.

Jongho’s fighting style was something you’ve never seen before; although the always carried a dagger with him, he fought using his fists. Jongho wore leather gloves with cleverly pointed metal plates, which resulted him to be a threat, considering the fact that he had a lot of strength. Honestly, you lost count of how many times he had stopped with his fist next to your head just to look at you with a polite smile, asking if you wanted to try again and occasionally pointing out if you ever made a mistake.

San fought using two swords just like Hongjoong, but unlike him, he didn’t hold back. Despite everything, everyone had always been extremely careful with not hurting you in any way; as days gone by, you could see your own improvements, thing that irremediably brought a satisfied smile on your face.

Occasionally, even if your training was over, you stayed behind in order to secretly practice on your magic; once you had made sure that no one was around anymore, you tried to create your own fighting style – as Seonghwa had suggested you, and more than once you tried to lift a sword using your own magic. Taking a deep breath, your eyes gradually changed their colour - becoming as grey as the clouds right before a dangerous thunderstorm, as you practiced few combat moves on an imaginary target in front of you, while also trying to move as precisely as you could the sword that was floating next to your body.

Despite your happiness as you reached small goals, you realized that not everything could go according to plan, and one morning, as you were fighting alone with San, he had taken advantage of your distraction and managed to tackle you on the ground.

San was sitting on your stomach while keeping your arms pinned on your sides and he had his eyes open wide. San’s stupor was met with your fearful gaze, since as you fell, the hood you always wore had slightly uncovered your face; although he didn’t realize you were a girl, San could clearly see your features due to the spell almost completely disappearing. And of course, the boy had to tell everyone; you didn’t understand why Wooyoung stared at you with narrowed eyes and eyebrows furrowed as soon as San had told everyone that «our little hood has really pretty eyes,» but yet, you could only hope that San would have never tried to investigate further about your identity. As soon as San dropped the bomb, chaos erupted around the bonfire burning in the middle of your group since, apparently, everyone had been utterly curious about knowing what you actually looked like underneath the hood you so desperately seemed to love; you panicked a little as Mingi and Yeosang started agreeing with Yunho, which was complaining about San being too lucky.

«You know how San is,» Hongjoong spoke, his gaze burning into yours as he was meticulously analysing your body language, «he probably used a stupid trick.» he commented, and San giggled, content about knowing something his friends didn’t.

Despite what happened, no one pushed the matter if not in a joking manner, things you were extremely grateful for.

That night, instead of keeping guard, you walked towards the small clearing next to where the others were sleeping, in order to train a little bit more by yourself.

Extremely attentive to every kind of noise different from the ordinary, you spent few hours practicing surrounded by darkness, partially satisfied because if someone among the group decided to randomly wake up, they wouldn’t know that you were using magic.

Satisfied with your training, as soon as you saw that the sun was about to rise, you decided to collect your things and walk back towards the others in order to wake Wooyoung up so that he could keep guard for few hours while you could have gone to the river in order to take a quick bath. However, before you could even realize, someone harshly grabbed you by the elbow and roughly pressed your back against a tree. A hand was firmly pressed against of your mouth, and you were trying to do anything you could in order not to panic before realizing that Wooyoung was staring at you with narrowed eyes, glaring at you with a scowl.

«So, what are your intentions?» he asked, harshly taking off his hand from your mouth; you furrowed your brows in confusion, aware about the fact that despite the faint sunlight allowing to clearly see everything, he couldn’t properly notice due to the hood casting a partial shadow on your face.

«Excuse me?» you asked, forcing your voice to come out a little bit rougher; he couldn’t have found out about the fact that you could use elemental magic, right?

«San!» he said immediately, as if it was an obvious thing, «Are you planning to steal him from me?»

«No!» you honestly answered immediately, the last thing you wanted was to ruin couples and get on a mercenary’s bad side; you knew how dangerous Wooyoung was during a fight, and it was better to keep him as a close friend, «I want to learn how to fight, I want to be helpful.» Wooyoung visibly relaxed at your words, while simply humming in response.

«I didn’t know you were-»

«We’re not!» Wooyoung cut your sentence, «yet!» he immediately added, and his scowl gradually dissipated.

«I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Wooyoung. Hongjoong allowed me to stay with you and the least I can do is to learn how to be helpful.» “without using elemental magic”, you mentally added; Wooyoung sighed heavily, scratching his nape with his left hand, his long black hair gently falling on his face.

«It’s okay, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusion.» he mumbled, before he suddenly leaned closer to you. Despite you had slowly grown used to spend whole days between Hongjoong’s arms due to the fact that you shared a saddle, you still were not used to have a boy so close to you.

However, Wooyoung bent his knees enough so that he could made direct eye contact with your eyes, and you found it almost impossible to look away. Wooyoung didn’t try to move your hood, he didn’t try to do anything; he simply stared at you, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

«I’ll give it to you, your eyes are really pretty.» he said, before standing up in his original position once again; Wooyoung started to walk towards the others, when you instinctively called out to him.

«Wait!» you said, and Wooyoung stopped in his tracks, curiously looking at you; quickly, you walked up to him, trying clear your thoughts just enough to understand why you decided to stop him in the first place. Wooyoung tilted his head, but patiently waited.

«You…Your eyes,» you said, uncertain, «your eyes are prettier.» Wooyoung sighed in a useless attempt to hide his sudden smile; immediately, his left arm was around your shoulder as he urged the both of you to walk towards the others.

«We really adopted a cute one.» he mumbled more to himself, and you smiled at yourself at his words.

Since then, Wooyoung’s behaviour had shifted towards you; he would often offer you to ride with him – thing that Hongjoong always refused, and he always made sure the two of you slept next to each other. Wooyoung was aware about the fact that you often grew incredibly cold during the night, and therefore, he had offered to share his extra blanket with you. Needless to say, you fell asleep listening to Wooyoung’s enamoured voice whispering you about how smitten he was for San.

«Why don’t you tell him?» you innocently mumbled back one night, «you like him, tell him.» Wooyoung sighed at your answer, as if he couldn’t understand how naïve you could be.

«I have thought about it,» he admitted, «but I guess I’m scared about facing him every day if he doesn’t reciprocate my feelings.» you nodded at his words, shifting under the blanket, «the boys are our family, and I don’t want to ruin everything.»

«You’re really brave, Wooyoung,» you weakly mumbled as you felt yourself dozing off to sleep.

«I’m just an idiot.» you thought you heard him say.

The thick woods slowly began to dissipate around your path, as you spent another day carefully travelling using the river as a navigation reference; from what they had said, you would have reached a village in no more than two days. You were glad, since if luck was on your side, you could have gotten another room for yourself in order to wash up while not being in a hurry; it was not that simple to wrap a bandage around your chest while your skin was damp.

«What’s going on between you and Wooyoung?» Hongjoong quietly questioned you, as he was gently instructing you once again where to correctly put your hands on the reigns in order to efficiently lead the horse.

«Nothing,» you admitted, «we’re friends.» Hongjoong hummed, not actually waiting for you to explain yourself, but you still did, «I don’t think I ever had a friend in my life, so I’m glad he acts like one.»

Hongjoong’s head turned towards you, but you kept looking ahead; although the question he wanted to ask so badly was on the tip of his tongue, he refrained from asking, aware that it was not the right moment.

«Well, little hood,» Hongjoong shrugged, mirroring your action to look ahead, «you might have eight of them, now.»

Whether your heart started to race in unexpected blissful happiness was a secret only for you to know.

Later that night, you quietly walked away from your sleeping friends instead of keeping guard; sitting by the river, you closed your eyes and sighed at the feeling of having your hair dishevelled by the night breeze and your breasts no more trapped in a tight bandage.

Even if you wanted to enjoy your bath, you knew you had to be quick; no one still had found out that you were a girl, and you didn’t know how much time you had before any of them woke up. Standing completely naked under a sky full of stars, you slowly made your way into the river while shuddering at the cold feeling of the water; eventually, you slowly started to relax and wash yourself.

Next to the fireplace, Seonghwa suddenly woke up because of a weird, twinkling sensation at the tip of his fingers; he groaned, shifting on the other side in the attempt to fall back asleep just before noticing that you were not keeping guard any longer. He suddenly sat up, ready to wake up Hongjoong and alert him about the situation, when he felt that someone had entered the river.

It was a default feature of the children of Water; their power allowed them to know whether someone interacted with a natural source of water close to them and if they wanted, they could somehow see, as if they were standing into the water as well. However, Seonghwa doubted his powers were working correctly because he sensed the presence of a girl.

Seonghwa glanced at your empty spot with furrowed brows, before eventually, his eyes turned into the colour of the deep blue sea, as he connected himself with his own element. He was prepared to finally see the face of the boy they were travelling with, but he was shocked to discover that indeed, he was a girl. Seonghwa blushed, feeling guilty about spying on you as you bathed; with a sigh, he let go of his vision, leaving you to the privacy of your own bath. San’s words echoed in his head, and he silently smiled to himself, mentally agreeing with his friends.

“She’s really pretty,” Seonghwa thought, as an infinite series of questions popped out into his mind: where were you running away from, in order to pretend to be someone you were not? As he kept thinking, he shifted his position once again, keeping awake until he eventually saw you coming back, safely hidden in your clothes.

Honestly, you felt incredibly guilty about waking up Hongjoong earlier than needed, but the water was so cold you were afraid you might have passed out if you didn’t manage to hide yourself under some blankets as soon as you could. Hongjoong’s eyes snapped open as soon as you touched his cheekbone, and he immediately caught your hand in a quick move.

«Did you stick your hand into an iceberg?» Hongjoong mumbled, and you refrained from whimper in bliss at the sudden warmth of his touch.

Unexpectedly, Hongjoong offered you his blankets as well, mumbling something about him not being cold; despite your constant bickering, you didn’t want to question him or play difficult, and eventually, you laid in Hongjoong’s place, enjoying the warm sensation you felt under the covers.

However, you fell asleep too quickly in order to realize that the pleasing warmth had soon dissipated and therefore, you were unconsciously tossing, turning and moving around in order to find any source of warmth; your movements stopped as soon as your forehead encountered something warm, and you finally felt like you could peacefully rest once again.

If you were asleep, Hongjoong clearly was not; at first, he had thought about waking you up, noticing that you were moving too close to the fireplace, but then, you started to move the opposite way. As he was keeping watch, Hongjoong decided to sit against the tree close to you, his back leaning against the cortex and therefore, it didn’t take you too long to come to a stop as soon as your forehead met Hongjoong’s thigh. He didn’t miss your content sigh at the sudden warmth, and he incredulously glanced at his friends to see if anyone was awake to see it.

Minutes passed, but you didn’t give any sign of wanting to move away; Hongjoong sighed, glancing at his friends once again just to be sure that no one could see him gently placing his hand on your head over the fabric of your hood. Hongjoong stared at you, wondering whether he should have given in to the temptation and reach out with his fingers just enough to peek at your identity; minutes passed, but eventually, Hongjoong gave up with a sigh, leaning his head against the tree behind him.

“It wouldn’t be fair,” he thought, unconsciously caressing your head as you unconsciously nuzzled your forehead against his thigh.

«Well, this was unexpected,» Seonghwa whispered from nearby, «but I have to admit, it’s getting interesting.» he chuckled quietly, a faint noise carried away by the wind.

«Shut up, Seonghwa.» Hongjoong whispered back with a flustered voice.

When you woke up Jongho was the one keeping guard, and as Hongjoong was helping Wooyoung and Seonghwa to prepare a quick breakfast, you noticed that his blanket was still safely wrapped around you.

CHAPTER IV

As few weeks had gone by, you wondered more than once where exactly your friends were supposed to go; for all you knew, you’ve been travelling for weeks. Even if you never complained, you secretly admitted to yourself that your favourite moments were anytime you could stop at an actual village – even for a single night, in order to properly wash up without being in a hurry.

As days went by, something you didn’t fail to notice was the fact that somehow, Seonghwa’s behaviour towards you seemed to have shifted into something a little more protective; he would admonish Hongjoong anytime he answered to you in a too sarcastic way, he would always give you a larger portion of food, or he’d make sure for you to have an extra blanket for when you stopped at night. He would also make sure to go easier on you during your training, and even if you wondered why, you never brought yourself to actually confront him.

Hongjoong and the others seemed to have warmed up to you; eventually, you’d spend part of the evening sitting around the bonfire and listening to their stories, wondering how many adventures they have lived and most importantly, if you would ever manage to experience some of them before eventually drifting off towards you own path. The fact that their friendship was deep enough to consider each other family was evident, and you tried not to pay attention to that sense of belonging you were feeling once and a while; after all, you had a well defined objective in mind, and you didn’t want for them to risk their lives as well.

Despite the fact that you had to remind yourself not to get too attached to the loud and chaotic group of new found friends, it was as if you couldn’t do otherwise; although you were still keeping secrets from each other, you kept feeling a strange sense of belonging slowly and unwillingly building itself inside your soul, and you eventually wondered how much your inevitable separation would have hurt both you and them.

Moreover, it was a mystery to you how could Hongjoong’s presence be so incredibly soothing; it wasn’t rare for you to abruptly wake up due to a sudden nightmare, and anytime it happened, you’d ask to keep guard – so that the other could get some more sleep and you were forced to stay awake, too scared to fall asleep.

Lately, a lot of nightmares seemed to swirl around the same scene, making you see part of your past all over again; you were 10 years old back then, and the image of a Disciple dragging the lifeless body of a young boy was a vision that – even after years, kept hunting you. Although you didn’t see what the boy looked like, you quickly realized that you were the same age. However, anytime you woke up due to a sudden nightmare and Hongjoong was the one keeping guard, he always refused your proposal of getting few more hours of sleep; instead, Hongjoong always offered himself to listen to you, asking what was wrong and you felt yourself grow flustered because you couldn’t tell him the truth. It would have been nice to say “I’m having nightmares about the days I spent at the Shrine”, but you simply couldn’t, not yet; on top of that you were terribly scared about them finding out who you really were and who your father was, that you’ve always kept your talking at minimum.

«It’s nothing, it was just a bad dream.» you would say every single time, and Hongjoong would roll his eyes while sighing deeply – clearly not believing you but not forcing you to talk, before patting the spot next to him.

Needless to say, you immediately crawled towards him while making sure to bring your own blanket as well, ready to listen to anything and everything he had to say; these secret moments you shared with each other were undeniably sweet compared to those times during the day when you were tempted to throw something at him as a silent answer to one of his sarcastic retorts. Most of the time you would fall asleep, and even if you noticed the fact that you were literally falling asleep leaning against him due to his pleasant warmth, Hongjoong never said anything; he’d simply shook you awake so that you could move before he eventually woke up the one which was supposed to keep guard after him.

Hongjoong was a reliable leader, and as days went by, you understood why he others trusted him blindly; more than once, curious to admire his real face, you’ve been finding yourself on the verge of asking him about his right eye, but in the end you always refrained from doing so, since you didn’t want to bring up what could have been bad memories.

It was a mystery to you how could his mere presence or his voice make you feel completely different, and you weren’t sure whether you liked you own growing feeling.

«I remember reading a very interesting book,» Yeosang said one morning, as you were peacefully eating breakfast around a small bonfire; it was a mystery to you how he could be so talkative in the morning, but it was something you grew to appreciate, «it talked about sons and daughters of nature.» although you instinctively stopped chewing and your gaze instinctively drifted towards him, you tried to put all your effort in trying to look as neutral as you could.

Both Yunho and Yeosang had a deep passion for reading and therefore, anytime you stopped at a village, they’d spend their free times at the local library, eager to learn new things; their tales were interesting, since they’d space from talking about histories of the foundation of small villages, to how to use refined alchemy stones without destroying your weapons – and sometimes destroying your house as well.

«It said that elemental magic is unlimited, however, using too much of your magic within a short amount of time would irremediably consume you, as well.» Yeosang’s words were quiet and had the mere purpose to accompany your breakfast with something you mighthavenot known, but as he went on, you started losing your appetite.

«I heard about that, too,» Mingi nodded at his friend, «I wonder how intense your emotions have to be in that moment, in order to consume yourself as well.»

“The key word is “desperation”, Mingi,” you thought, your hands resting on your crossed legs, holding loosely the small loaf of bread you were previously eating.

Of course you knew what Yeosang was talking about; after all, it was how Serendia Shrine started creating their magic crystals. The Disciples would torture innocent people, bring them to the verge of insanity, force them to continue using their magic without ever taking a break; they would steal their life essence, in order to seal it in a magic crystal which they would use for their own wicked purposes.

Even thought you’ve spent your life locked up in there, you’ve never honestly understood what their so called “superior plan” was; for what you overheard, they wanted to awaken an old God – the God of Corruption, which, according to the legends, had been sealed away long time ago. In order to summon him, not only they needed an unquantifiable quantity of magic, but they also needed a sacrifice which, needless to say, would have been you.

«You’re not hungry?» Seonghwa’s gentle voice immediately snapped you from your thoughts, and you glanced at him, only to see that he was trying to study your stance with a concerned expression; you shook your head, honestly feeling like your stomach was curling on itself.

«It’s okay, you’ll eat more tonight-»

«Hongjoong, I have bad news.» Jongho, who – under Hongjoong’s order, spent his breakfast time searching the surroundings, erupted from the bushes; he seemed extremely serious, and your eyes shifted towards Hongjoong, which visibly tensed up.

«Don’t tell me they’re trying to ruin my morning.» Hongjoong groaned, briefly glancing at Jongho, which nodded at him; before you could ask what was going on, Hongjoong gestured towards you and Wooyoung with his gloved hand without thinking twice, «Take him, and wait for us at the next village.» Hongjoong told Wooyoung, and you felt your heart sink in your stomach; you suspected that Jongho was talking about Disciples, but yet, all you felt was deject.

“Am I still not strong enough to face them?” you thought, but even so, something in Hongjoong’s tone made you refrain from wanting to fight him. Silently, you nodded, immediately following Wooyoung on his horse as the others quickly put the breakfast leftovers away.

«It’s okay, little hood, we’ll see them soon.» Wooyoung whispered, before urging his horse to move.

«Why you look so gloomy?» Wooyoung questioned once you were far enough from your friends.

«Did we run away from Serendia Shrine’s Disciples?» you questioned, not minding whether it was better for you to keep quiet about it; however, for all Wooyoung knew, it could have been an innocent question, since you’ve heard your friends talking about the Disciples more than once. Wooyoung’s affirmative answer made you scoff.

«I’m still too weak.» you groaned, more to yourself.

«It’s not that, little hood, you’re really good at fighting,» Wooyoung sighed, before groaning, «I don’t like to hide things from you… but we’ll eventually tell you, okay?» you nodded, feeling puzzled; Wooyoung’s sentence was low-key the confirm that they were keeping secrets from you, but what could it have been?

The village was small and welcoming; for what you could remember, it resembled the one where you used to live long time ago. The most interesting thing was that, in the centre of the village, surrounded by a small enchanted metal fence, stood what the inhabitants called “scuffling poplar”: a dry tree made up of two trunks tangled in a spiral, on which branches the inhabitants had hung the most disparate talismans.

Both you and Wooyoung had spent the day roaming free trough the village while waiting for the others; contrarily to you, Wooyoung was completely relaxed, certain about their friends coming back unharmed before dinner time. Eventually, your day unexpectedly turned into a promiscuous day, since Wooyoung ended up buying you new clothes, despite the fact that you kept saying no; for obvious reasons, you carried no money with you and therefore, you didn’t know how to eventually pay him back.

«We’re friends, and plus, you honestly can’t think I’m letting you walk around wearing that.» Wooyoung had said; you tilted your head, momentarily glancing at the helm of your cape. He was right, it was damaged, but it was functional; after all, you needed it in order to hide your face and to keep warm.

«It’s still good…» you tired but, to prove his point, Wooyoung raised his eyebrows, sticking his index finger inside a hole in the fabric right next to your elbow.

«We’ll buy it.» Wooyoung ended up saying every single time; needless to say, your could feel your heart swell and sink every time.

Wooyoung was a friend to you, and the amount of trust he had in you was overwhelming; you suspected the fact that he insisted on buying you clothes was also an excuse for talking too much about his crush for San, but you honestly didn’t mind. You weren’t used to any form of affection, and your heart sank at the thought that the day where you had to part from your friends was inexorably getting closer.

Evening arrived fast, and as Wooyoung promised, you saw Hongjoong and the others walk into the small village; immediately, the two of you ran towards your friends which wasted no time and loudly greeted the two of you.

«Are you hurt?» although the question was meant for everyone, your gaze was unwavering from Hongjoong’s, which offered you a smug smile before answering «As if.»

«See? What did I tell you?» Wooyoung smiled brightly at you, as he stood in front of his long-time crush.

«Were you worried about us?» San questioned you, and you nodded briefly, «Were you?» San questioned again, but this time, his eyes were locked on Wooyoung, as if he was the only thing he could see.

«Of course I was not,» Wooyoung scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest and adverting his gaze in order to hide the faint blush covering his cheeks at the unexpected question, «hopefully, they beated some common sense in that stupid head of yours.»

«It’s not like I wanted to see your stupid face again.» as if they were child and not full grown boys, San immediately scoffed as well, crossing his arms in front of his chest and adverting his gaze in the opposite direction Wooyoung was looking at.

«I want to fight as well, next time.» you told Hongjoong, and he sighed, as if he could feel the determination burning in your gaze.

«We’ll see about that.» he simply answered, weakly patting your head through the fabric of your hood as he walked past you.

The inn you were staying in was quite large, the expensive wooden furniture decorated the room and made it very welcoming for travelers; although you wanted to spend your night sleeping peacefully in the privacy of your room, your friends literally dragged you towards an unfamiliar building. You couldn’t understand why some of them were so eager to show you that place, but as soon as you found yourself sitting on one of the expensive velvet chairs, you felt like wanting to go home.

There were boys and girls – some way more undressed than the others, expertly walking through the room and lovingly chatting with travelers, not really minding about each other’s personal space.

Despite the hosts’ various body shapes and their various skin colours, you noticed that the common feature they shared was eye catching beauty; there were details in each of them that prevented you from looking away, and you were glad for the fact that your hood was hiding the embarrassment portrayed on your burning cheeks. Needless to say, you didn’t know about the existence of such places, and neither you were sure you wanted to know more about them; you were feeling embarrassed, and you didn’t know what to do.

Sticking to Seonghwa’s side for the most of the night seemed to be the best solution and therefore, you found yourself sitting at a small table next to Seonghwa, Jongho and Mingi.

«What do you mean this is a brothel?» you questioned Mingi, which answered with an amused chuckle at your naivety; you absolutely did not know where you managed to end up, and why did your friends ended up taking you into such a place.

San and Wooyoung were sitting at the table next to yours, happily chatting with a girl sitting on Wooyoung thighs, Yunho and Yeosang were talking with two different girls at opposite sides of the room, and Hongjoong was nowhere to be seen.

“Wait,” you thought, leaning towards Seonghwa, which was sitting next to you.

«Where’s Hongjoong?» you asked him, your voice as low as possible; his gaze immediately shifted towards you, a mischievous and surprised smile on his face.

«He’s with the owner of the brothel» he answered, a sly smile on his lips.

«… Oh!» you said, feeling your cheeks heathen in embarrassment; Seonghwa’s chuckle brought you back to reality.

«Which would be his sister,» he added, «they barely see each other. Plus, we get our informations from here.» at your confused expression, Seonghwa briefly explained that any kind of information the hosts managed to get, always ended up being reported to Hongjoong from his own sister and therefore, stopping at the brothel was pretty much a mandatory routine anytime they were close to the village; Hongjoong would get informations while finally seeing his sister again, and the boys had their own share of fun.

Although you wanted to know more about it in order to get distracted by the environment surrounding you, your words died in your throat as soon as you felt a whiff of extremely pleasant perfume, followed by a sudden weight on your thighs; you tensed up as if you were suddenly made of wood, and your head turned too see a girl smiling curiously at you.

«I see there’s a new entry in your group!» she said, loosely wrapping her arm around your shoulders and turning his gaze to Seonghwa; lavender scent surrounded you and, if only you weren’t panicking, you would have noticed the serious and accomplice look that the girl and Seonghwa exchanged.

«Oh, little hood, you’re always so lucky!» Mingi whined, and Jongho quietly chuckled at the blonde boy’s reaction, «I wanted to be with Lea, tonight.» he added, pouting.

«Maybe next time, babyboy.» she winked playfully at him, before suddenly getting up from your lap and making you stand up as well while gently tugging on your wrists.

Lea gently guided you upstairs, walking through a large corridor on which sides were the hosts’ personal rooms; you followed her as if you were under some sort of spell, but in reality, you were honestly panicking because Seonghwa told you that the brothel was the place where they got informations, and you were about to be alone with a host which would have found out you were a girl as well. The thought that your friends were about to find out about your lie was enough to prevent you from thinking straight.

The faint noise of the door locking behind your shoulders made you swallow a little louder than you meant to, and Lea simply giggled at how tense you were while making her way in order to sit on her bed; although you wanted to curiously glance around the room, you were frozen in place.

«You can relax, I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with,» Lea broke your tense silence, and you nodded, unsure on what to say, «thinking about it, it’s funny how no one realized you’re a girl, yet.» your head snapped towards her, not quiet believing if she really spoke what you’ve heard or you just had some sort of hallucination caused by the pleasant perfume in the room.

Lea playfully giggled again, shrugging and tilting her head on her left, her hair following the movement; she seemed to lower herself a bit more, as if she could peek under your hood from far away, but eventually, she gave up quickly.

«I will keep your secret, I promise,» she added, touching her heart as she spoke, «you must have a reason for wanting to hide your identity.»

Something in her gaze made you visibly relax, and you nodded at her, mumbling a quiet, «thank you.» it was a weird feeling, hearing your own voice while not forcing it to come out a little rougher, and it was definitely not unpleasant.

«Come here, let’s have a girls night!» Lea smiled widely, repeatedly patting the space on the bed next to her; you nodded again, before eventually walking towards the bed and sitting on the soft mattress next to her. You were completely aware about the fact that Lea was going to ask you to take off your hood, and therefore, you brought your hands upwards, hesitantly touching its fabric before pulling it back; the hood was now resting on your shoulders, and for the first time in months, you let someone else see your face.

«You’re so pretty,» Lea cooed, her fingers instinctively touching your cheeks with a faint touch, «okay, here’s what we’re going to do: you can wash up using my personal bathroom, and then I’ll do… something to your hair.» she mumbled the last part, leaning in to brush a hand through it.

Now, if someone were to tell you that one day you’d spent a night at a brothel, your eyes would have popped out of their sockets in shock; moreover, if someone were to tell you that you would have had fun, you would have probably asked the poor person if they happened to hit their head a bit too roughly.

However, there you were, sitting at Lea’s boudoir as she was gently combing your wet hair while gently massaging your scalp and tell you a lot of stories as your gaze repeatedly met through the mirror in front of you; although you were reluctant to talk about yourself, Lea never forced the topic. You were genuinely unable to describe the feeling of openly behaving like a girl for the first time in a long time, and moreover, you were unable to describe the feeling lighting up your soul at the fact that someone was taking care of you; aside for your mother, not one had ever treated you so kindly and therefore, there was something in Lea’s gentle touch that made yo want to cry every now and then.

Lea was a gorgeous girl, she was funny, smart, and her gaze went from mischievous to extremely sweet in a short matter of time; her beauty was easily intimidating, and you wondered if you could have the same effect on someone as well.

«I’m telling you, he tried to kiss me!» Lea said, carefully braiding your hair for the night; she seemed outraged, and you furrowed your brows in confusion.

«You don’t… kiss people?» you questioned, clearly unfamiliar with the situation and completely oblivious to the world of sex.

Lea’s expression visibly softened and eventually, she shook her head with a nostalgic smile; you could see her eyebrows delicately furrow as if she was lost in thoughts, and you were about to excuse yourself for such an indiscreet question.

«The only man I’ve ever kissed was my husband,» Lea said, her voice was gentler, and the love she felt for him was something you could definitely see in her eyes, «no other man has ever been able to make me forget about him.» with a sigh, she placed the comb she used to brush your hair on the boudoir, before gesturing to you to follow her on the bed; as the two of you sat cross legged in front of each other, you never expected her to open up to you – since you were basically a stranger, but eventually, she did.

«My husband was a child of Water,» she said, her gaze unfocused and a sad smile plastered on her lips, «we got married few months after we started dating, clearly too in love with each other, until one day, the Disciples showed up in our village, taking him and the others.» you knew where her story was leading, and you felt your heart clench, «I’ve never seen him again.»

Unconsciously, your hand reached on top of hers, and she immediately looked at you with a somewhat grateful expression; it was as if she felt relieved about talking about such a delicate matter after a long time. Lea told you that she ran away from the village in seek of help to rescue his husband, but eventually, she ended up meeting Hongjoong’s sister, which offered her a home.

«I don’t think my husband would be proud of me for doing this,» Lea confessed with a breathless chuckle, «but this nightmare has to end, and I’d do everything to help Hongjoong and the others to destroy Serendia Shrine once and for all.»

“So, we have the same objective in mind,” you thought. Although you and Lea kept talking for the most of the night, you’ve never brought yourself to ask her a description of her husband; you were more than certain that he had died, but you didn’t want to be the bearer of such a heartbreaking news, even if Lea was pretty much sure about his husband’s death.

The two of you were now laying on your sides facing each other on her wide and soft mattress, with a warm blanket was sprawled on top of the two of you.

«Part of me will never stop waiting for him.» she timidly confessed in a whisper, before eventually, the room fell into silence.

It was definitely not an uncomfortable silence, and secretly, you were glad about Lea being the host that stole you away from your friends; you didn’t want to imagine what would have happened in other situations. However, the whirlwind of thoughts occupying your head seemed to head in a single, well defined destination.

«Lea?» you mumbled, timidly calling out for her; she tiredly hummed in answer, and you shyly continued, «what does it feel to kiss someone?»

«Oh, godness!» Lea took a deep intake of breath, suddenly seeming completely awake, «you’ve never kissed anyone?» she curiously wondered, and you shook your head against her lavender scented cushions; the more she kept silent, the more stupid you felt for asking such a question.

«I guess, if you kiss someone you love, it’s somewhat the best feeling in the world,» Lea answered, carefully choosing her words, «otherwise, it’s just… pleasant.» you kept silent, trying to elaborate her words and wondering why did your mind ended up wandering towards Hongjoong every single time.

«Do you want to try?» Lea questioned, barely above a whisper, and you were sure that if your heart was beating a bit louder you wouldn’t have heard it.

«What?!» you shrieked, the peaceful silence of the room now long forgotten, «what about your husband?» you added, your voice once again a timid whisper, a neat contrast to your racing heart.

«We can try, if you want.» you saw her smile thanks to the few candles illuminating the room; you don’t know what exactly came over you, but you agreed.

That’s pretty much how you found yourself once again sitting in front of Lea, which was constantly reminding you to relax with an amused voice; the kiss was brief and sweet, Lea’s lips were patiently moving against yours, as if to somehow give you silent tips on how to move and what to do.

Both her hands gently cupped your jaw, and as you tilted your head in order to deepen the kiss, you felt her smile against your lips; instinctively, one of your hands reached out to touch her thigh, while the other gently cupped her cheek as well. The kiss was soft, gentle, affectionate; there were no deep feelings between the two of you, there was no love if not a friendly affection and yet, in your inexperience, you enjoyed it.

«Your first kiss is mine!» she giggled, wriggling her fingers while gesturing the motion to lean forward in order to tickle you, the pureness of her action immediately making you giggle as well.

That night, if your dreams were composed about kisses and a handsome boy with faint red hair, was a secret for only you to know.

In the morning, Lea hugged you tight, giving you few tips on how to fix the bandage around your chest so that it wouldn’t hurt too much.

«I don’t know what your goal is,» she said, tightening her grip around your hands, «but good luck.» you immediately thanked her with a big and relieved smile, before eventually dressing up with the clothes that Wooyoung had bought you, noticing that they were perfectly fitting. Before leaving the room, Lea pecked your lips again with a gentleness that was definitely unfamiliar to you, and then she shortly placed her forehead against yours, quietly mumbling a soft, «please, be careful.»

«Lea?» Hongjoong questioned as soon as he helped you climb on his horse; you nodded, fixing your brand new clothes.

«How…?» you were meant to ask how did he understand, but he chuckled before you could finish your question.

«I’m pretty sure your whole body smells of lavender.» Hongjoong simply added with a smile while lifting his left eyebrow, and you felt your cheeks heaten once again.

Although you wanted to learn more about his thoughts on the matter, you kept quiet, figuring out that why would he mind the fact that you spent the night with someone – even though nothing happened, when he didn’t even know you were a girl?

However, the fact that Hongjoong’s grip on your waist was a little tighter would have been an answer to your doubt, if only you had paid attention.

The more you moved farther from the village, the more your soul grew restless; apparently, Hongjoong had been informed about the fact that part of the way you were supposed to go, was invaded by a storm of cruel harpies blindly attacking people. You proceeded slowly, the main fear was that the horses might freak out because of the fear caused by the loud screeches. From what you knew – more like from what Yunho and Yeosang had been explaining, harpies were social creatures and usually, their behaviour usually was not hostile towards humans.

Harpies were also extremely loyal to their leader, and most importantly, they had their own language that was incomprehensible and extremely disturbing to humans, and did not it meet the standards of actual speech from the human perspective. Harpies were born with feathers as black as coal, that eventually would change their colour as they grew older; the whiter their feathers, the older the harpy.

The wooded paths gradually opened up to make room for the rocks and the few trees characteristic of the hilly areas that preceded the part of the mountain that you should have coasted and the more you went on, the more you could hear the tranquil silence being interrupted by loud and bloodcurdling screeches; in the distance, you could see the outline of countless harpies flying in the sky. Behind you, you could easily feel that Hongjoong was tense, and his grip on the reigns was incredibly tight; anytime the harpies screeched, your friends clutched at their ears in order to muffle the disturbing noise, while you had to pretend to be under the same effect, not completely understanding why you were immune to that.

What definitely made you consider the option you were going crazy was the moment when you were forced to pass by a soldier attached by a lone harpy; he was lying on the ground, partially leaning against a rock, while restlessly moving his sword towards the sky, in the vane attempt to neutralise the harpy’s furious attacks.

«Leave, you monster!» the soldier shouted, and the harpy aggressively clawed at his wrist, disarming him in a quick movement.

«You stole from us! Humans attacked us first!» the fact that you heard proper words instead of repetitive screeches like your friends did, made you tense up.

Was it something wrong with you? Why the others seemed to be terribly influenced by the harpy’s screech while you were not?

«It’s okay.» Hongjoong mumbled, resting his left hand on your thigh while gently moving his thumb in a slow and reassuring movement; you were glad for his concern, although the two of you were worried about two completely different things.

Eventually, Hongjoong and the others urged their horse to move faster since no one wanted to fight a group of furious harpies, and you were left alone with your thoughts.

The rocky path became increasingly narrow, and for a good part you were forced to dismount and continue on foot, while the horses followed by inertia by the grip you had on the reigns; luckily, you didn’t meet any more harpies, as the path you should have walked deviated and prevented you from meeting any more of them. A descent before a crossroads presented itself to you as a metaphorical choice of your own destiny; laying with her back against the rocky wall, there was a harpy, weakly hissing and screeching in pain as a long arrow was perforating her stomach. The harpy visibly panicked as soon as she saw your group approaching, probably thinking that you came back in order to definitely kill her.

«Seonghwa…» Hongjoong mumbled, his gaze locked on the writhing creature on the ground; Seonghwa immediately complied to that silent order, lifting his hand in order to grab his bow.

«Wait!» both you and Yeosang said in unison, but between the two, only you brought yourself to walk closer to her and therefore, ignoring Hongjoong’s order to come back.

The harpy was writhing on the floor, hissing and screeching in pain as she was glancing at you with an unfocused gaze; you furrowed your brows in a silent wonder about her injuries, while approaching her with slow steps in order not to scare her, and making sure she could always see your movements. The boys curiously glanced at each other, ready to attack her if she ever tried something hostile towards you, but among them, only Yunho and Yeosang shared the same, suspicious look.

«It’s curious…» Yeosang started, his voice only for Yunho to hear, «… Harpies don’t let men get so close to them.» however, their discourse immediately stopped as they saw you kneel in front of the harpy, which was still looking at you with an unfocused gaze.

«The arrow, it’s poisoned.» you heard her say; it was a simple, weak mumble, and you immediately glanced at your companions, but judging by their expressions they couldn’t either hear her, or understand her words, «Please, sister, end my suffering, kill me.» she pleaded but you shook your head, horrified at her request.

«Who did this to you?» you whispered back, leaning closer to inspect her wound further, and in order not to let the others hear you.

«Humans,» she immediately whined, «they attacked us, they invaded our territories.» Somehow you understood the fury of the harpy you saw earlier.

«Please, forgive me for this.» you whispered only for her to hear, and before she could answer, you snapped the arrow in two and extracted it from the wound as carefully as you could. Her screech of pain made your heart clench, Hongjoong instinctively stepped closer to you but Yeosang stopped him, seeing that you immediately started casting a healing spell on her wound, your eyes flashing golden as you were using basic magic, ignoring Hongjoong’s pissed off question about what were you doing.

The harpy eventually lost her senses, but the wound was completely healed; you were aware about the fact that you had used a lot of magic and so, you weren’t surprised about your head spinning as soon as you tried to stand up on wobbly and weak legs.

Nonetheless, you kneeled, fatiguely picking up the passed out harpy, before turning to your companions while trying not to pass out as well.

«Are we,» you coughed, once again forcing your voice to come out a little rougher, but you were so tired you found it honestly difficult, «can we stop to the harpies’ nest or I have to go alone?»

Hongjoong’s exasperated sigh was the only answer you received, while the others looked at you as if you’ve just effortlessly tamed a wild beast in front of their own eyes; Jongho was quick to walk in your direction, helping you carrying the harpy towards the horses since he saw you struggling to stand up.

«Take my horse,» San quickly told you, «I’ll ride with Wooyoung.» you nodded at him, thankful for his offer.

Despite the fact that you could now somehow ride a horse by yourself, Hongjoong was riding in front of you while holding the reigns of San’s horse as well, leaving you the only task to avoid to fall off the horse.

It was the first time you weren’t riding with Hongjoong on his horse and, as much as it confused you, you missed the sensation of his chest pressed against your back.

Forced to go back, you found yourself wandering through narrow and rocky paths, but in the same moment your horses started to lead towards the harpies’ nest direction, you realized that it wasn’t probably the best decision; what looked like a small storm of twenty harpies immediately started to fly above you in a threatening manner, but the harpy in front of you was quick to call out to them.

«She saved me!» she quickly screeched to the storm, forcing your friends to cover their ears in pain, «They’re my saviours!» you heard her add, and from that moment, the harpies eventually started to land, sitting on various ledges on the rocky walls while studying your group with a menacing gaze plastered on their human features; you had to admit that trotting your way into a harpies’ nest while some of them were staring at your group of friends ready to come for their head made you really scared.

However, at some point, they all jumped in front of you, blocking your path.

«You have to come alone,» the harpy explained, «men can’t meet the Queen.» you nodded at her, before dismounting from your horse and hesitantly turning to your friends.

«Please, wait for me here. I’m the one who saved her, I don’t want to expose you to further danger; I’ll be back!» you quickly said, avoiding to explain why you were the only one who could understand her and eventually walking towards the harpies blocking your path before they could answer you.

With incredulous eyes, your friends watched as the harpies made enough space only for you and your new friend to walk through, before resuming their action of staring at them.

«Makes sense, he saved her.» San shrugged, and Wooyoung nodded at him.

«Hopefully he won’t take long, they’re giving me the creeps.» Mingi commented.

Yeosang and Yunho simply glanced at each other, as for Jongho, Seonghwa and Hongjoong, they watched your figure disappearing with worry filling their hearts.

The road was uphill and increasingly sloping; the side the road was decorated with helmets and various remains of armour, carcasses, corpses. As you approached the top of the mountain, there were only nests on either side of the path; they were well organized, some full of eggs, some others carefully watched by some harpies. What you couldn’t understand, was the fact that despite it was full of harpies, no one of them ever tried to attack you; some of them didn’t mind the fact that you were passing by, but some other actually acknowledged you, offering you a smile with their delicate human features.

As you were walking on the path which led you even higher on the mountain, the harpy you had saved begun to explain about the sudden war they were forced to face; after years of peace, humans suddenly and inexplicably invaded part of the harpies’ nest, killing everyone they met n their way, with the sudden goal to expanse their territories.

«Humans have always been greedy, haven't them?» you found yourself saying, even thought you couldn’t understand your own words.

On top of the mountain, a small clearing opened in front of you; the rocks seemed to have flattened out, some horizontally, others in pointed diagonal spikes. Some trees also had managed to grow despite the altitude.

«Well, well. Finally, my immortal eyes see something different.» a voice above you made your head snap towards its direction; it was indefinable with human words due to its beauty; it was gentle and yet authoritative, otherworldly, almost ethereal.

A harpy – way much bigger than the others, stood tall on top of a tree which resembled a throne, her feathers white and the human part of her body had skin as white as snow, a mask resembling a bird’s beak covered her eyes and part of her human features, while white feathers as pure as snow framed her features as if it were her hair, making her look both threatening and ethereal.

«I am Karanda, the Queen of Harpies, and the Goddess of Air.» she addressed you in a polite and gentle way, and you immediately bowed to her.

«I am honored to meet you-»

«No, human, I am the one who should bow to you.» she gracefully tilted her head in a hint of a bow, action which was immediately mimicked by the few harpies standing around you taking you by surprise. you swallowed nervously, not bringing yourself to meet their gaze despite the fact that you were indeed the hero of the day.

Honestly, you were starting to doubt you were actually living a very vivid daydream instead of real life; from what you've been told, the cases of children of Nature meeting one of the deities were extremely rare, and most importantly, these meetings always had a purpose.

«Young witch, what you have shown is but a glimpse of what you will be. I will not forget your clemency, and I am sure our paths will cross again.» you couldn’t bring yourself to answer to her; her presence was overwhelming and on top of all, she said she was the Goddess of Air, could she somehow be related to you?

Her utter beauty and how ethereal and powerful she looked left you stunned, and you could only look at her – admire her, which eventually laughed, and snapped you out of your thoughts.

«Let me ask you, though, why is a one of my daughters travelling undercover with men?» you could see her smile under her gracious mask, and you petrified.

“Daughter? Wait, how did she know my friends don't know about my identity?” your head started to spin due to how many questions you wanted to ask her, but you easily figured out that, since she was a Goddess, it might have been an easily obtained information for her.

The Queen’s voice softened, explaining herself further by saying that harpies would rather die instead of letting men help them; you attentively listened to her words, hoping that no one in your group of friends knew about this.

«You are the first of my human daughters I meet in a long, long time and therefore, let me tell you something about your future,» she waved her clawed hand, generating a small agglomerate of white energy – it resembled a sphere, but it was almost translucent; despite you couldn’t bring yourself to look at it for long due to its brightness, she looked into it as if it was a book, before making it disappear in a tight fist with a knowing smile, «how small you are, for such a great destiny.» she shook her head, a hint of sadness tainting her ethereal voice.

Immediately, your heart picked up pace, «You know about my mission?» you questioned, and she nodded, «Am I going to…» “die?” you simply thought the last part, unable to finish your own question.

«I can’t tell you this, but let me tell you something else you might find interesting,» Karanda tilted her head, giggling to herself while mumbling a quiet «that Garmoth fooled me again.»

«Your soulmate is a child of Fire.» she announced, carefully studying your reaction; you tilted your head in confusion, furrowing your eyebrows.

«Soulmate?» you questioned; you’ve never heard anyone talk about the topic, “maybe I should ask Yeosang,” you thought, “but why should it be so important for me?”

«You’re travelling with him.» you heard Karanda add, as it it could have been a clue, «However, I can’t tell you much more than this, but since you saved one of us, we’re all in your debt. Whether in danger, don’t be afraid to call for us.»

«How do I do that?» you questioned, wondering how could they hear your call if you were on the other side of the world.

The Queen smiled tenderly – almost motherly, and effortlessly ripped a feather from her arm, which immediately crafted itself into a small, neat and beautiful necklace; you instinctively opened your hands, accepting the gift which flew to you gently carried by a faint breeze.

«For a start, never take this off, and you’ll figure out the rest in due time.» Karanda nodded at you, and somehow, you had the feeling that your meeting was over; there were many things you wanted to ask her, however, your thoughts were a whirlwind of confused words and therefore, you followed your new friend on the way back towards your friends, as you immediately wore the necklace Karanda gave you and carefully hid it under your shirt.

«Why did it take you so long?» Jongho screamed as he saw you walk out the makeshift barrier of harpies that have been silently staring at them for the whole time; you jogged towards them, apologising for the wait. San was now back on his horse, so you instantly walked towards Hongjoong, which effortlessly helped you up.

«Could we please leave? I’m starting to feel like tonight’s special dessert.» Yunho politely asked, somehow lighting up the mood and immediately, you urged your horses to walk away from the harpies’ nest.

«Are you okay?» Hongjoong mumbled, trying to avoid the fact that he had acted incredibly concerned until few minutes before you eventually returned; he saw your cape moving in a silent nod, «Then, that’s what matters.»

Once again, you felt your cheeks heaten, your brain acknowledging the comforting warmth emitting from Hongjoong’s body.

“Your soulmate is a son of fire,” Karanda had said, “could he be…?”

CHAPTER V

«So, little hood…» Yeosang’s voice momentarily trailed off, as he manoeuvred his horse so that he could ride right next to you and Hongjoong, «what happened at the harpies’ ridge?»

“Not again,” you thought, furrowing your eyebrows for a brief moment; although you already explained to your friends what happened, Yeosang seemed particularly curious, almost suspicious of what you referred to them.

«She showed me her hatched eggs,» you repeated yet another time the excuse you came up with, «apparently, she just became a mom, I couldn’t understand anything else - you know, she screeched a lot.»

If you had to be honest with yourself, your version of the events seemed to scream “I’m absolutely lying, and I have no idea about how to come up with a believable excuse” from every syllable you pronounced each time someone asked what happened, but no one ever tried to inquiry any further; Yeosang, however, was the only one who found the whole episode incredibly odd. He had read an incredible amount of books, but in none of them he had ever found even a hint about harpies’ friendly behaviour towards humans, although they were not hostile towards them; on top of that, harpies loathed men, so it was incredibly strange how an entire flock of harpies had allowed you so easily to wander free in their territory, especially because they were very territorial.

«Leave him alone, Yeosang, each one of us has a secret.» unexpectedly, Hongjoong’s authoritative tone prevented Yeosang from asking any more questions; you quickly thanked the young leader, even thought you were unsure about why he decided to intervene so suddenly, «It’s okay, plus, it wouldn’t be wise for you to turn against us.» Hongjoong simply answered, and you nodded, not that you were planning any of the sort.

Few days went on like this, and you found yourself growing curious towards what Hongjoong had said; what secrets were they hiding?

“I don’t like to hide things from you… but we’ll eventually tell you.” Wooyoung had told you at the village, and deep down, you knew you could trust him. However, sadly, you didn’t have enough time to completely gain their trust.

Even thought you were incredibly grateful towards all of them for all the things they patiently taught you every day, you knew you were running short on time in order to complete your lonely mission. Each day you could feel yourself growing attached to them – to someone in particular, and each single day, the idea of running away in the middle of the night had been postponed to the following day, and so on.

This is why, the moment you realized you were close enough to the territories that led to the Serendia Shrine, you decided that you would have given yourself two days and two nights; as soon as the full moon would shine bright in the sky, you would have used your turn to keep watch in order to run away. To say that you felt incredibly guilty for running away like a coward was an understatement but, you didn’t know how to act otherwise; informing them about your plan of destroying the Serendia Shrine meant putting them at risk as well, and you didn’t want for it to happen.

During the weeks you spent with them, they had treated you as if you were one of them and therefore, you were convinced that the only way to protect your only friends was to walk away from them without leaving any trace behind you, just like a night summer breeze.

«Hey, little hood?» Yeosang gently nudged his elbow against yours in a gentle but firm movement, and you immediately snapped out of your thoughts; you turned your head towards his direction, noticing that he was looking at you with furrowed brows, «Why are you so distracted today?» he asked, his attention once again claimed by the numerous colourful bottles and ampoules neatly placed on the small table in front of the two of you.

Yeosang was an alchemist and so, he had the habit of carrying along with himself a big backpack filled with all sort of ingredients he might have needed to enchant his friends’ weapons; thanks to alchemy stones, he could nullify the weight of his tools and therefore, this explained how he managed to carry along with him a small wooden coffee table.

«Oh, it’s nothing,» you answered, your attention going back on the wooden mortar and pestle in your lap; the two of you were sitting next to each other on the soft grass, your legs crossed and your elbows occasionally bumping against each other as Yeosang carefully and patiently explained to you step by step what he was doing.

«Why are you so determined to teach me alchemy’s secrets?» you gently questioned him, weakly stirring the light blue powder in your mortar, admiring the reflections that under the sun almost seemed luminescent; Yeosang shrugged, before exhaling a long sigh and tilting his head towards the direction where the others were organizing the small camp for the following few days.

«Mingi and Yunho are the only ones that showed interest towards alchemy, and so I taught them as well,» Yeosang shook his head, gently dishevelling his blonde hair, «I know you’re hiding something big, little hood, but I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Alchemy could be a great help during unexpected situations, and I want you to get even better than me.» you found yourself nodding with a sad smile, as your eyes trailed from Yeosang’s profile to the small boiling cauldron in front of the two of you.

One night remained to the full moon.

Although you kept meticulously following Yeosang’s instructions about what you had to do, you just couldn’t keep concentrated, and if the whirlwind of thoughts running wild in your mind wasn’t confusing enough, Karanda’s words kept coming up every now and then; she said that you were travelling with your soulmate but… What could it mean? What is a soulmate? Moreover, why did she found the information so important?

Glancing to your right, Yeosang’s focused expression as he was reading a formula met your gaze and instinctively, you called out for him, which mumbled absently as a silent request to go on with what you wanted to say.

«What’s a soulmate?» you questioned, and Yeosang’s head immediately snapped towards you; his eyes were wide with stupor, and his lips were slightly parted; you were glad he couldn’t properly see your face because you suddenly felt embarrassed. What exactly did you ask for?

«Where did you hear that?» Yeosang’s lips turned upwards in a sly and curious smile.

«At the village; some people were talking about it.» you quickly came up with an excuse, and Yeosang nodded, believing you; he placed his mortar on the small wooden table, as if he was looking for the right words to explain such an intricate concept as simply as he could.

«A soulmate is… someone you love unconditionally with all your heart,» Yeosang said, «a lot of books talk about this topic; apparently, a soulmate is like a missing piece completing your life, someone you can unconditionally trust, forgive, love, grow old with. Some say the bond between soulmates is so strong that they will inevitably find each other life after life.» you curiously listened to Yeosang’s explanation, wondering if you would ever been capable to feel like he said; needless to say, you have never loved anyone in your life, you didn’t even know if you were capable of it.

Karanda said that you and your soulmate were travelling together, but who could it be? You didn’t feel in any special way towards anyone, after all. From what Yeosang had told you, soulmates’ bodies reacts along to the bond, and therefore, if their soulmate were not near them, they would feel different, almost as if they were missing something.

“I don’t feel like that towards anyone,” you thought, but before you could mentally add that Karanda might have been wrong, a very familiar sensation re-appeared in your mind; few days earlier, when you and the harpy were riding San’s horse, you distinctly felt like missing Hongjoong’s warmth.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence,” you quickly brushed away your own thoughts, unwilling to start seeing your friend in a different light; after all, he didn’t even know you were a girl.

«Oh, I forgot one of the ingredients,» Yeosang suddenly said, «go on with creating the gem, I’ll be back soon. I think I left it in my saddleback.» before you could say anything, Yeosang had quickly stood up and started walking towards the others’ direction.

«You never taught me how to create that enchantment stone…» you whispered to yourself, and your shoulders fell for a brief moment; with a groan, you re-arranged your position, so that you were on your knees and you were balancing your weight on your calves in order to look for the gem’s recipe in Yeosang’s alchemy book.

However, despite the fact that you spent endless minutes leafing through the pages, you didn’t find anything that could help you and so, you settled for stir a little more vigorously the light blue almost luminescent powder in your mortar.

Unbeknownst to you, Yeosang didn’t forget anything; he had been studying alchemy since he was young, so the possibilities of him forgetting some ingredients were almost non-existent. However, if you were confused about your own feelings, Yeosang was confused about your whole being. He didn’t fail to notice how you and Hongjoong seemed to get along differently – although sometimes you kept bickering over stupid things, and he had few theories about which he was eager to find out the truth.

«Where’s little hood?» Hongjoong asked as soon as he saw his friend sitting next to Mingi, and Yeosang had to refrain himself from scoffing.

«He’s creating some enchanted stones, but I think he’s having some troubles,» Yeosang said, furrowing his brows and carefully studying his leader’s reactions, «could you check up on him?» Hongjoong sighed, but eventually nodded.

Hongjoong finished his task to start a fire and eventually walked off, unaware about the fact that Yeosang was going to follow him, settling for keeping a safe distance behind a large oak tree.

«Need some help?» Hongjoong’s voice called out, and you nodded as you watched him walk towards you, before crouching down on the empty spot left by Yeosang.

«I would appreciate it,» you admitted with your eyebrows furrowed, «Yeosang asked me to create some “essence of enchantment”, but he never explained me how I’m supposed to do it in the first place.» Hongjoong gently smiled hearing your words, and eventually, properly sat down next to you, reaching out to grab Yeosang’s heavy recipes book and bring it on his lap.

«I have very little memories on Yeosang’s alchemy lessons,» Hongjoong mumbled, his gaze quickly scanning the pages as he leafed through them; once again, the question about what happened to his right eye was on the tip of your tongue but this time, you realized too late that you were voicing your own thoughts. Hongjoong’s fingers momentarily stopped, before eventually, they started moving again; you held your breath, feeling guilty and completely aware about how rude you have just been.

«Uh, let’s just say it’s a reminder.» Hongjoong shrugged, once again busy with his research; to be honest, he wasn’t angry at your curiosity but rather, he was surprised about the fact that you didn’t ask earlier. However, before you could ask any further, Hongjoong happily said that he had found the recipe, «It doesn’t look too complicated…» he said, before the two of you started working again.

For a start, Hongjoong manage to steal the mortar and pestle from your hands, leaving you to add various ingredients he named in the still boiling cauldron; once again, you felt weird feelings creeping in your heart and a weird sensation tingling in your stomach as the two of you were making conversation.

«What do you mean you don’t know how to weigh ash sap?» Hongjoong questioned you with an exasperated sigh as he kept mixing the ingredients in the mortar, «little hood, did you live under a rock?»

«Where did you learn your manners, among rogues?» you immediately retorted, hitting his shoulder using the small towel you used to clean the colourful bottles on the small table. Hongjoong rolled his eyes while lifting his eyebrows in the attempt to hide a smile, before handing you the mortar and pestle for a brief moment; as soon as your hands met the wooden material, you couldn’t help but notice how incredibly warm the wood was in that moment, contrarily to when you were holding it. Hongjoong briefly explained you how to weigh most of alchemy’s ingredients, and you tried to pay as much attention as you could.

«What are you doing here?» Seonghwa questioned Yeosang – still hiding behind a tree, and the blonde boy immediately brushed his question off while quickly shaking his hand in mid-air.

«Alchemy.» Yeosang simply answered, and Seonghwa furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, leaning over his friend’s shoulder in order to see what he was so intensely looking at.

Hongjoong was laughing, reaching out with his fingertips - dirty with some alchemy powder, towards you while trying to dirt your face as well; you, however, were repeatedly brushing his hand away with one of the small towels placed on the small table, preventing his fingertips to reach underneath your hood. «I think our leader has a soft spot for our new entry,» Yeosang mumbled, and Seonghwa nodded with a gentle smile, even though his friend couldn’t see him.

«I have a theory,» Yeosang briefly glanced at Seonghwa, as he watched with a faint horrified expression the two of you putting the ingredients on the cauldron in the wrong order, «I think little hood is a girl.»

Now, Seonghwa was glad about the fact that Yeosang couldn’t see him, otherwise, his eyes widening comically wide would have made him immediately understood his theory was right.

«What if he was?» Seonghwa questioned, trying to sound oblivious.

«I honestly don’t care about such trivial things,» Yeosang immediately shook his head, and Seonghwa immediately felt relieved, «It’s nice to see Hongjoong so relaxed, since… well, you know.»

Although Seonghwa didn’t answer, he found himself silently agreeing with Yeosang, his eyes fixed on the eyepatch that his long-time friend kept on his right eye.

«I think something’s wrong.» Hongjoong mumbled, scratching his nape and continuously glancing towards the cauldron while re-reading the recipe; apparently, the cloud of smoke and white steam that suddenly started to come out of the boiling pot in order to immediately fall to the ground was not expected.

As the boiling noise started to become louder, you and Hongjoong quickly glanced at each other before abruptly standing up and quickly running towards the same direction; the cortex of a thin maple tree was definitely not the best choice for a shield, but the both of you quickly decided to run behind it, considering the distance between the tree and the cauldron reassuring enough.

«What if it explodes?» you wondered as the could of white smoke seemed to thicken.

«We’ll never gonna hear the end of it,» Hongjoong immediately answered, «Yeosang is going to be so mad.»

The seconds spent staring at the cauldron – waiting for it to explode, seemed to last for small eternities when finally, the smoke slowly began to dissolve; eventually, you and Hongjoong decided to walk towards it, ready to run away from it once again if you saw something you didn’t like. However, a bright purple stone was floating in the boiling water, and you instinctively clapped your hands in front of your mouth.

«We did it?» you asked excitedly, watching Hongjoong crouch down and gently move the stone using the pliers placed on the table.

«Seems like it.» Hongjoong confirmed with the same tone.

Apparently, the two of you found the situation so paradoxical that you couldn’t help but erupt into a soft streak of giggles; for the first time, you forgot to force your voice to come out a little rougher, and as you laughed together, Hongjoong thought that he had never heard such a beautiful sound.

«Amateurs,» Yeosang shook his head from where he stood, and Seonghwa snorted.

On the last day you were supposed to spend with your friends, you couldn’t understand where did the terrible feeling creeping in your soul come from.

Although you’ve been feeling uneasy since you woke up, you tried your best not to alert anyone else, deducing that you were feeling anxious about the fact that you had to part from them in few hours. Since for the day you weren’t supposed to move from your momentary camping spot, you had enough time to get a little more familiar with your surroundings and therefore, to come up with an untraceable path; after all, you were a daughter of air and you could have simply used magic in order to expertly move the fallen leaves in order to cover your traces.

Eventually, Wooyoung proven to be a great distraction since - around the middle of the morning, announced that you and him were in charge of hunting for lunch.

«I believe it’s the best time to tell you I do not know how to hunt.» you confessed, but your friend simply laughed.

«It’s not difficult, I’ll teach you!» he lively answered, wrapping his arm around your shoulders as he always did, and you felt incredibly grateful about the fact that his enthusiasm – along with his laughter, was always incredibly contagious.

The remaining part of the morning consisted in Wooyoung placing traps in few different spots, before carefully teaching you how to correctly tie a rope.

«I’m sorry I haven’t been sleeping next to you these nights.» Wooyoung abruptly confessed, and you simply stared at him with a confused expression; you were the first one sneaking out from your blanket in order to go and talk with Hongjoong anytime you had a nightmare, so what was he sorry for, exactly?

«I miss you,» you confessed, «falling asleep while you talk about San had always prevented me from having nightmares.» you teased, and he lowered the rope he was tying with a dramatic move which made you smile, «aren’t you sleeping next to him now?» you questioned him, recalling that during the times you were keeping watch, you always saw them sleeping next to each other.

«He almost kissed me last night.» Wooyoung admitted, shyly; you could see his cheeks heathen, and you found him adorable, «he never tried to kiss me, aside from when we’re at the brothel.»

“Wait-”

«What?» you asked, thankful for the hood hiding your eyes as wide as the moon, «Aren’t you supposed to spend the night with one of the hosts?»

«Well… We… We share.» Wooyoung answered while scratching his nape, feeling incredibly small under your gaze – although he couldn’t see it.

«What… What do you mean…» you mumbled; you weren’t sure your words were intended to form an actual question. Wooyoung and San spent the night with the same person, and you absolutely did not want to know anything about it.

«It means that-»

«No.» your hand flew in front of your friend’s mouth, which immediately laughed at your reaction.

«I promise you, it’s fun-» Wooyoung tried to say, although your hand muffled his voice; however, you interrupted him again.

«I swear, I’ll find a way to shut you up using those ropes.» you added, noticing how Wooyoung’s fun was increasing as you continued to talk.

«Well, that’s something we do-»

«Wooyoung!» you half shrieked, half laughed due to your embarrassment.

«Okay, okay, I’m sorry.» he chuckled, lifting his hands in defeat. Luck was on your side, since few moments later, two hares decided to jump straight in Wooyoung’s traps.

As the two of you were carefully walking your way back towards your friends, you felt once again that terrible feeling but this time, it was as if it was preventing you to move forwards; noticing your sudden discomfort, Wooyoung gently placed a hand on your elbow, but before he could question you, a loud and hostile chatter immediately claimed your attention.

Although you couldn’t make out what they were talking about, it was clear that the noises came from where your friends were, and as you looked once again towards Wooyoung, you saw his jaw tense.

«Let’s go.» Wooyoung whispered, before carefully hanging the hares the two of you had captured to one of the nearest branches; the two of you walked closer to your friends as quietly as you could, taking shield behind a large oak tree.

As your eyes studied the horrifying situation in front of you, your heart started to hammer in your chest and you started to feel dizzy; Hongjoong and the others were tied up together with enchanted ropes and therefore, they could absolutely neither move, nor use any kind of magic.

In front of them stood ten men wearing very familiar black vests adorned with red details, and the fact that you could immediately recognize their uniform made your skin crawl in both fear and rage. They were, without any doubts, Disciples of the Serendia Shrine.

Glancing at Wooyoung, you felt petrified, unsure on what to do; there were ten of them, meaning that you and Wooyoung were outnumbered. How could you help your friends? Nevertheless, most importantly, were you strong enough to do that? As if you were having a silent conversation, Wooyoung nodded at you with his jaw tightly clenched as he slowly reached for the short dagger in his boot since he did not carry his bow along with himself during the hunt; you did the same, tightly gripping to the dagger hanging on your left thigh.

In the same moment you glanced back to your friends, any of the doubts forming in your head disappeared as you saw a sword lifting Hongjoong’s chin, and immediately, you and Wooyoung walked out from your hiding spot.

Thankfully, the fact that San taught you enough dishonest tricks on how to take down your opponent during a fight came in hand, and with a quick move, you managed to kick away the sword of the Disciple standing closer to you and stab him in the neck, his lifeless corpse falling at your feet. With a quick glance, you saw that Wooyoung had managed to kill the Disciple that was pointing a sword to Hongjoong and you immediately, inexplicably, felt relieved. As you and Wooyoung stood almost protectively in front of your friends ignoring their requests to run away; you were completely aware about the fact that you managed to kill two of them thanks to the surprise element, but you were also aware about the fact that elemental magic was something they did not possess.

The fact that they could only rely on magic crystal made them weaker than you were, since magic crystal possessed a limited quantitative of magic. Although the lives of your friends were completely in your hands, you tried your best in order to fight them without exposing yourself; with fatigue you and Wooyoung managed to take down other two Disciples, meaning that only six of them were remaining.

“We can win,” you thought, motivating yourself as you were facing yet another Disciple. Stupidly, you were so distracted with focusing on your opponent that you didn’t properly realized that the Disciples weren’t using magic crystals, and therefore, your hopes immediately faded from your heart as soon as you heard Wooyoung’s loud cry of pain. Dread tightly gripped your heart as you feared the worst, and you shortly adverted your attention from your opponent just to see that your friend was laying on the ground; Wooyoung was desperately clutching at his head, writhing in pain as one of the Disciples was pointing a magic crystal towards him with a victorious smile.

«What are you gonna do now? You’re all alone.» your opponent scoffed, and rage started to cloud your senses; without realizing it, your magic started to flow in your veins with much more intensity than it usually did. Instinctively, you ran towards Wooyoung in order to tackle the Disciple on the floor and annulling the magic crystal’s effect, but before you could do it, a flow of artificial magic roughly pulled against your arm, preventing you from moving further.

The Disciples must have thought you were a regular human, because the spell holding you in place was not particularly strong and therefore, you could easily break it. Moreover, although your plan didn’t succeed as you had planned to, at least the Disciple’s attention wasn’t any more focused on Wooyoung, meaning that your friend wasn’t anymore under the effect of the magic crystal; Wooyoung started to crawl back, but before he could join your friends, he was stopped by a blade pressed against his nape.

In that moment, you realized that you were the only one that could save them and at that point, you were completely ignoring your friends’ voices telling you to give up and to run away.

«Did you really think a pathetic little boy could defeat us?» the Disciple holding the crystal spat, and it was more than enough to make your blood boil; you’ve always despised them, what they did, their constant acting as if they were superior to other people. This is probably the main reason why you let out a humourless laugh into their face; it was either that or you had gone mad in less than half an hour.

Something seemed to settle in your soul, and it was as if you were completely aware that you were following the script that your fate had written for you; you know what you had to do, the power you could feel flowing inside you was enough of a hint.

«If a boy can’t do it,» you said, for the first time not forcing your voice to come out a little rougher, «how about a child of Air?» the surprise you saw reflecting in their eyes made you feel incredibly powerful, since they obviously didn’t expect something like this.

Adrenaline was rushing through your veins,and with a quick move you took off your hood, showing your face to other people for the first time in weeks; as your hair fell on your shoulders, you saw the shadow of recognition dance in the Disciples’ eyes, and you immediately realized that you didn’t have enough time to take notice of your friends’ reactions.

Immediately, you lifted your hands in front of you, your outstretched palms facing the Disciples; as you start to imperceptibly close your fingers towards the palm of your hands, you noticed them stop in their tracks, their hands immediately clutching at their throats. Taking a deep breath, you focused even more on not to lose concentration, and inexorably went on with your ministrations, happy about the fact that you could finally use the trick that one of the child of Air kept prisoner with you had taught you many years ago. The power of Air gave you an immense power on people’s ability to breathe, and as much as you closed your hand into a fist, people would be gradually troubled with breathing, until the point of suffocation.

That was exactly what you were doing to the Disciples; you closed your hand into a fist as slowly as you could – contrarily to the original technique, as if it would make them pay for all the years you and the others had to suffer until eventually, they all fell on the floor, lifeless. Said trick was dangerous, and you were definitely not immune to it: the more you would use it, the more it would consume you. Everyone had a weak spot, and for the sons and daughters of Air, the “grip of grudge” – as they called it, was it.

«You’re a girl?!» Mingi, Wooyoung and San shouted in disbelief.

«I knew it!» Yeosang exclaimed with a wide smile and a satisfied expression.

«You’re a child of Air?!» Yunho, Jongho and Hongjoong shouted at the same time.

“Oh, good grief,” you thought; your eyes widened at the realization that you indeed managed to save your friends, but you also exposed yourself.

With careful steps, you approached them in order to untie them from the enchanted ropes, without meeting anyone in the eyes.

«I already told you, I’m not a spy.» you groaned, pulling on your wrists in order to free yourself from the ivy ropes tightly handcuffing you; exactly like the first night you met them, even if you tried tugging on the ropes with all your strength, the roots seemed to get tighter instead of loosen.

«And why didn’t you tell us?» San spat, as if you’ve personally offended him; your eyes met Hongjoong’s gaze, but you couldn’t decipher his expression.

«Excuse me, Mr.Choi,» you spat back with a sarcastic tone, «what was I supposed to do? I barely ran away from the Shrine and I stumbled into you. If you didn’t notice, I’m a girl and you were eight men, pretending I was a boy was the most obvious thing to do!»

«She’s not a spy,» Seonghwa, which had been silent for all this time, quietly spoke for the first time, «I knew she was a girl, the only times she ran off were so that she could take a bath.» Hongjoong gaze kept burning into yours as his arms were crossed in front of his chest, and you wanted so badly to ask him what he was thinking about, even though you didn’t know why you felt so desperate to hear him talk in the first place.

«I don’t think she’s a spy, either.» Wooyoung shrugged, «she has been listening to me ramble about my crush for San for weeks. If she was a spy she would have ran away already.» despite your friend was hurt about the fact that you didn’t tell him the truth, he still considered you as his best friend and therefore, he instinctively stood up for you.

«Your what?!» San shrieked, his gaze immediately shifting to Wooyoung and suddenly, you weren’t the main topic anymore, «Since when? Damn, Wooyoung, why you never said anything?!»

«It’s not my fault you’re an idiot.» Wooyoung simply answered, not wanting to meet his friend’s gaze.

«Jongho,» Hongjoong addressed his friend – and shutting up the others’ ramblings, and your heart picked up pace in anticipation as you heard his voice for the first time, «untie her.» he simply added and Jongho nodded; not even a second later, as if they had their own will, the ivy ropes untied themselves and fell on the ground.

A soft gasp escaped your lips and your brows furrowed in the sudden realization of Jongho being a child of Earth, but before you could ask for clarifications, your attention was caught up by Hongjoong quickly reaching behind his head in order to untie the eyepatch on his right eye, before placing it in the pocket of his jacket.

«Finally, I couldn’t see shit with this on.» he mumbled quietly, and as your gaze locked with Hongjoong, you felt as if you couldn’t look away.

If you thought Hongjoong looked handsome while wearing an eyepatch on his eye, you definitely were in for a surprise; contrarily to what you believed, his eye was not damaged, it was bright red with some yellow shades in it. Hongjoong had mismatched eyes, and if you looked in his right one, it was as if you were looking at fire itself; it was bright, and it seemed to set your soul alight.

«It’s beautiful,» you mumbled in awe before realizing it; you distinctly saw Hongjoong adverting his gaze – almost as if he was embarrassed, while mumbling to you to shut up.

It was strange, because as soon as Hongjoong took the eyepatch off, everyone seemed to relax; few hours later you had set up a camp for the night, and as you started sharing stories, you realized that now, there weren’t any more secrets allowed.

«Okay, cihld of Air, it’s time to explain.» Hongjoong said, taking a seat in front of you as he watched you momentarily massage your still sore wrists, and you found it impossible to hide the truth anymore.

Taking your time, you told everything: first of all, you introduced yourself and then, you explained how you the Disciples kidnapped you when you were a child, about the experiments they did on people, about how you manage to ran away, about your lonely mission of destroying the Shrine. In the end, you told them everything, except for who you were.

«That’s pretty much our goal as well,» Mingi said, «I don’t see why you shouldn’t stay with us.» much to your relief, everyone agreed with him but still, you took advantage of the moment in order to ask what you desperately wanted to.

«What’s your goal, anyways?» you wondered, «We’ve been travelling for weeks.» Hongjoong scoffed at your question, and you felt your cheeks heathen; why, all of a sudden, you were feeling like this?

«Serendia Shrine is within the Capital’s territories,» Yunho explained, «working as mercenaries for the Capital’s Chief means that we get informations.»

Although you did not like where the conversation was going, you patiently waited for Yunho to finish.

«We want to know who the current leader of the Shrine is.» Yunho’s voice was gentle and yet, it was as if you could feel your heart stop; the leader was your father, and therefore, if they ever found out the truth, they would have inexorably found out about your identity as well.

«Isn’t it easier to destroy everything?» you tried, and San looked at you as if he was looking at some sort of divine apparition.

«I didn’t think you were that kind of person,» San placed his chin on the palm of his hand, suddenly looking interested with your suggestion, «I suggested it as well, but Hongjoong is curious.» he explained, and you nervously nodded at him.

«However, the spell you used before was amazing.» Jongho said, and you felt yourself smiling.

«I’ve been wanting to try the grip of grudge for years.» you said, feeling proud that you managed to successfully complete it despite it was your first try.

«Grip of grudge?» San questioned, curiously, and you just shrugged, explaining that was the name that the child of Air used as well, years ago, «that’s a cool name.»

«Isn’t it one of the forbidden spells?» Yeosang questioned, recalling something about a spell that ended up consuming the person whom casted it as well; sadly, you found yourself nodding.

«Forbidden or not, it saved your life, didn't it?» you simply answered, silently admitting to yourself that you didn’t care about your own magic consuming you, if it meant destroying the Shrine and the Disciples.

Now that you at least knew about their mission, you let your curiosity wander towards other places; hopefully, you’ll have enough time to make your friends change their mind about wanting to know who the Shrine’s leader was.

«I guess you’re a child of Earth?» you abruptly asked Jongho, which momentarily widened his eyes at the sudden question, before answering with a gentle smile and few repetitive nods of his head.

«I am!» he immediately added, «I’m sorry if the ropes hurt you… I can’t really do anything about it, the more you try to break free, the more they tighten.»

«Oh.» you simply answered, realizing that probably, if you had kept on pulling on them, you would have ended badly hurt.

Eventually, your eyes drifted towards Seonghwa; he said he knew you were a girl, but how?

As if he was reading your mind, he nervously coughed twice, before clarifying: «I’m a child of Water.»

Hearing his words, you stared blankly at him, as if the imaginary gears in your brain were slowly processing how could this information be related to him finding out you were a girl; few moments later, your eyes widened and you stared at him with an incredulous expression.

«Seonghwa, did you spy on me?» you questioned, suddenly ready to physically fight the gentle boy which had always treated you like you were a younger sibling.

«I didn’t!» Seonghwa hastily clarified, as he noticed that you were about to stand up, «I just saw your face reflected in the water.» he explained, partially lying, but it was more than enough to make you relax and make you sit back in your place.

Needless to say, your friends found the whole interaction amusing, at least, until Seonghwa decided to drop the bomb.

«Besides, you’re the one who always fell asleep hugging Hongjoong’s thigh, as soon as you came back from washing up.» Seonghwa’s words were accompanied with a sly smile, and suddenly, chaos was released; San, Wooyoung and Yeosang were staring at you, while the others were staring at Hongjoong, which was looking anywhere beside your face.

To be honest, Hongjoong’s eye was enough of a hint to find out his real identity, but you didn’t want for your thoughts to wander towards direction which could have been proven to be the wrong ones.

«Are you sure you’re not lying?» you questioned, «I remember falling asleep next to a warm-»

«Oh.» Yeosang cut off your sentence by immediately bringing his hands in front to his mouth, hiding an excited smile; you glanced at him with a curious expression, before Hongjoong’s voice clarified his friend’s behaviour.

«I’m a child of Fire.» Hongjoong said simply, and you could feel your heart hammering in your chest.

“Your soulmate is a child of Fire,” Karanda had said.

Hongjoong was a child of fire.

Hongjoong was your soulmate.

«And us, we’re all some cheap magicians.» Yunho added, and you timidly nodded, even though his words faintly reached your ears.

«Little hood, are you okay?» Wooyoung’s gentle voice was accompanied by him gently brush a strand of hair behind your ear, «you’re suddenly pale.»

“Get a hold of yourself,” you thought, before nodding at Wooyoung’s sudden question.

«A merchant - Alustin, called you by a strange nickname, if I’m not mistaken,» you questioned Hongjoong, which scoffed at the mention of the obnoxious merchant’s name, «but… Why?» you weren’t sure your question even made sense, but Hongjoong still answered you shortly after.

«It’s an old nickname I carry since I was a child, it's probably due to my eye,» his voice said, and you wondered why your friends seemed to suddenly tense up, «disciples can be creative, when they want to.» Hongjoong’s explanation was vague, but still, it left many options to be considered: he could have been a prisoner that managed to escape, or he just happened to meet them without having ever walked into the Shrine.

«People started to see that name under his wanted posters, and suddenly it’s not Hongjoong anymore, but he’s a mythological being.» San added before you could question him further, even though you knew that he would have probably brushed off the question with another vague answer.

«Wait, no this is so stupid.» Yeosang said, claiming your attention, «Beside the fact that my theory was right, we should have already figured out!» Yeosang let out a frustrated groan at the other’s oblivious stares, «Harpies don’t let men approach them; however she managed to heal one and walk in and out their territories.»

Apparently, it was enough for them to realize the truth behind what happened at the harpies’ ridge.

«Did you meet one of the deities?» Wooyoung questioned you, and you nodded.

«Karanda, the Goddess of-well, technically my mom?» nervously playing with your fingers, you simply explained them that Karanda had thanked you for saving one of her daughters, but you carefully avoided talking about your destiny or the fact that Hongjoong was your soulmate; you friends carefully listened to you, asking a lot of questions about what did she look like and anything they could have been curious about.

«I think our group is meant for something big.» Mingi cheered, «We’ve got four different elementalists and they’ve all met their parents!»

Now, it was your turn to listen to your friends’ stories. Jongho met the Goddess of Earth when he was still a kid; although he couldn’t remember every detail of that encounter, he clearly recalled that her appearance was the one of a giant tree in the middle of a clearing in the woods near where he lived. Jongho’s expression as he talked about her was serene, and you attentively listened about how long and strong the Goddess’ branches were and mostly, you curiously listened as he described the feminine figure carved in the cortex; he didn’t remember what she told him, only that she used her branches in order to untangle Jongho’s colourful kite before returning it to him.

«Well, I met him as well,» Seonghwa said with an embarrassed smile, and the others started laughing; you looked at them with a curious smile, and eventually, Mingi started explaining to you.

«We decided to rent a small ship, almost Viking style; it was nice, it had dragons details and shields attached to its sides,» Mingi explained while gesturing with his hands, «Apparently, the God of Water was in some underwater ruins… We managed to find out the locations, and waited literally on top of said ruins.»

«Seonghwa told us to wait for him,» Hongjoong added, picking up from where his friend left off, preventing Seonghwa from saying anything «And so we looked at him dive into the water and we just waited. At some point, we saw Seonghwa crawling out of the water quite far away from where we were; he started running at super speed towards the ship while walking on water, and-» since Hongjoong couldn’t stop laughing, Yunho added some other details.

«While he was running, Seonghwa was gesturing some strange things with his arms, which we obviously couldn’t understand because he was still far from the ship.» your eyes drifted to Seonghwa, which was looking at his friends with a blush on his cheeks, mumbling every now and then that they were purposely exaggerating the story, but Yunho didn’t mind him.

«We were trying to understand what he was trying to say when a giant monster partially came out from the surface – with pointed fangs and everything, and we had to pray that the ship wouldn’t sink because if the sudden rough waves. That was Seonghwa’s dad.»

«We eventually met underwater.» Seonghwa added, «He was just happy to meet one of his children.»

«We almost died.» Yeosang emphasized, and although the experience must have been terrifying, they kept laughing together about it.

As your eyes met Hongjoong’s gaze in a silent question, he shrugged, «It’s a story for another time, we should prepare dinner, at this point.»

«About that,» San suddenly cleared his throat, looking at Wooyoung, «come with me for a second.» he didn’t give Wooyoung actual time to answer, because he simply helped him get up on his feet and dragged him away.

With a dejected sigh, you figured your talk with Wooyoung was inevitably postponed; despite his behaviour didn’t change, you didn’t fail to notice the sadness in his eyes every time your gaze met and therefore, you wanted to confront him, scared to have lost your most valued friend.

Eventually, you spotted Wooyoung few meters away from the others, busy skinning the hares the two of you had captured hours earlier; taking a deep breath, you decided to walk towards him.

«How angry are you?» you crouched down next to Wooyoung; you timidly hugged your knees, and Wooyoung sighed.

«I’m not angry, I’m just… Hurt.» he admitted, slowly cleaning the blade of his knife with a towel which was sprawled on his left thigh.

«I’m sorry,» you said, but he shook his head.

«It’s not about you,» he immediately clarified, «I would have done the same, I’m hurt at my own behaviour. I was so caught up with my feelings that I didn’t paid enough attention to the fact that you were hiding something much more important.»

«Are we still best friends?» you hesitantly questioned him, after telling him that you didn’t mind to listen to him.

«Of course we are,» Wooyoung scoffed, as if he was stating the obvious; he quickly cleaned his hands and placed the knife on the towel, before opening his arms towards you, «come here, give me a hug, lil’ sis.»

The realization that Wooyoung didn’t mind about your real identity made your heart swell, and therefore you threw yourself in his arms, happy that he hugged you just as tight.

«Hey, little hood?» Wooyoung mumbled few seconds later, and you hummed in a silent answer, «don’t run away from us.»

It was such a simple sentence, and yet, you felt like crying; finally, you allowed for that feeling of belonging to settle in your soul, finally letting yourself go and giving up to that part of you that kept making you feel as if your friends were your home.

«I won’t.» you mumbled back, and Wooyoung’s arms tightened.

«Oh, by the way, me and San are together now.» Wooyoung happily announced, as your embrace eventually came to an end; you covered your mouth with both your hands, urging him to tell you everything that happened.

The pleasant feeling of admitting you were going to take a bath without running away and hiding yourself was something you’d never thought you could feel; you were happy about how things turned out, and you were happy about how easily your friends accepted the fact that you were a girl.

Sitting by the river, you kept wetting your fingers every now and then, trying to figure out if the water would eventually get any warmer; since it was night, you probably deduced it wouldn’t. As you thought once again about the events of the day, you sat on the grass while being partially undressed; your cape was neatly folded few steps from you along with your jacket and your leather boots, leaving you with your pants and a loose cotton shirt.

A sudden rustle of leaves caught your attention, and you saw Hongjoong walk out of it with lazy step, his crimson eye somehow shining in the dark.

«Oh, sorry.» he said, when he finally noticed you; you felt your cheeks heathen, recalling that the boy in front of you was supposed to be your soulmate.

«It’s okay, I was about to leave, the water it’s too cold anyways.» you shrugged with a polite smile, trying to stand up when his voice stopped you.

«I can help with that.» Hongjoong said, and you felt your heartbeat quicken because, what could he possibly mean with that?

Hongjoong turned around and patiently waited for you to completely get in the water before walking towards where you were, sitting on the grass with his back towards you. Despite your constant whines about the water being too cold, as soon as Hongjoong sat on the edge of the river while leaning back to support his weight with his left hand and the other immersed in the water, everything changed.

«Fire can be really useful in these situations.» Hongjoong said, and your eyes were locked on his back as a sudden warmth enveloped you; the water started to become warmer, and he explained that it was a sensation that only you could feel.

It was pleasant, and as you cleaned yourself while sharing a comfortable silence, the more you let yourself enjoy that sensation, the more you felt like you were about to doze off.

«Listen,» Hongjoong said out of the blue, «I’m sorry. I treated you kinda roughly at the beginning, with the training and everything.»

«I honestly can’t blame you,» you shrugged, walking towards the edge of the river in order to place your elbows on the grass. «I’m sorry about lying, despite you did a lot to help me.»

Hongjoong sighed quietly, «I can’t really blame you.» he lifted the hand that he kept in the water, in a silent way to signal you that that bath time was over, since the water’s temperature immediately turned cold; however, you noticed how he simply kept his hand in mid-air, his pinky finger weakly turned upwards.

«No more lies?» Hongjoong asked, still looking forwards even though you could see his profile from where you stood. Hearing such a gentle and innocent question, you felt your heart sink; you were still lying about who your father was, but you couldn’t bring yourself to confess that, not yet. You were afraid that their behaviour would instantly change despite the fact that you hated him just as much as they did.

«No more lies.» with a sad smile and your heart heavy, you interlocked his pinky with yours, the natural warmth of his hand sending shivers on your skin.

«Why do you look so flustered?» San questioned as soon as you walked back to the small campfire while still drying your hair with a towel.

«I don’t? I took a bath.» you shook your head, running a hand through your damp hair as if it would make them dry faster.

«Wait,» Mingi said, «Didn’t Hongjoong go to take a bath as well?» you saw Seonghwa choke on the bite of food, and Wooyoung immediately started screaming.

It took you at least half an hour to explain them what actually happened, and still, they didn’t completely believe you.

«Hongjoong,» you called out as soon as he walked back and joined you, «can you please tell them that nothing happened back there?»

As if you were sitting among a group if children and not mercenaries, seven heads snapped towards Hongjoong, eyeing him curiously.

Hongjoong, however, simply shrugged while furrowing his brows, «Was that really nothing?» he teased with a smug smile.

«Oh, good grief,» you and Wooyoung said at the same time, but the emotions you were feeling were totally the opposite.

If you hid your face in your hands due to his teasing, Wooyoung hid a surprised smile behind his hands, his eyes as wide as the moon and his voice as loud that you were sure he could resemble a harpy much better than you could.

Few days later, you realized with deject that it was impossible for you and your friends to enjoy some peace and quiet; apparently, inexplicably, some of the Disciples must have found out that Hongjoong and the others were dangerously close to the Shrine and therefore, instead of waiting for them, they choose to look for them.

That’s how you found yourself fighting against the Disciples yet another time – still hiding your identity, but this time, both you and your friends didn’t have to hold back anymore. This time, you decided to freely use both your magic and the tricks you taught yourself and therefore, you were fighting with a short dagger while using your powers in order to move another longer sword in the air, meaning that your movements were much less predictable rather than if you were fighting while physically holding onto it.

Mingi, Yeosang, Yunho, San and Wooyoung kept using their usual fighting style while the others were now openly using their magic. Jongho’s powers were more suitable for close combat, since his style had always been fighting while literally throwing hands; however, as his eyes turned bright green, he repeatedly used magic in order to occasionally create walls of moving sand erupting from the ground right in front of his friends in order to shield them from eventual unexpected attacks, if they needed.

Seonghwa still kept his distance, relying on his bow and the alchemy stones embedded in it; thanks to Yeosang idea, Seonghwa could transmit part of his magic into his arrow, and therefore, anytime his eyes turned deep blue, it meant that his arrows had the capacity to hurt his opponents from within their bodies. Even if his arrow didn’t necessarily hit a vital point, his opponent would still feel like drowning, eventually coughing up water until the point of suffocation; the effect of his spell was a little bit like yours, even though they worked in different ways – for example Seonghwa could use it freely and without any repercussion.

Hongjoong’s style was, to say the least, both mesmerizing and distracting; for a start, the blades he used to fight were in flames. Although he seemed to dance while elegantly killing his opponents, he never bothered to focus enough so that both his eyes could turn crimson; thanks to his mismatched eyes, he could easily use a big amount of magic without repercussions. Secretly, you wondered what would have happened if he summoned enough magic to make both his eyes turn the same bright colour.

However, despite the fact that you and your friends were fighting with all your might, you were outnumbered and therefore, you were gradually backed towards a dangerous looking bridge. Thanks to Jongho’s spell, you could momentarily forget about your horses since they were safely hidden thanks to his magic and therefore, you found yourself silently following the directions where the Disciples were pushing you to.

The bridge seemed anything but stable; made of ropes and wooden tiles – some more intact than others, the bridge swayed over a cliff, gently moved by the wind. Although no one of you seemed thrilled to walk on something so dangerously looking, you were completely aware that you didn’t have any other choice; besides, if you made it to the other side, Jongho could have made the part of the ground the Disciples were standing on fall into the cliff, meaning that you just needed to buy your friends time. This is the main reason why you and Hongjoong stayed behind – although you kept ignoring your soulmate telling you to join the others.

«They’re trying to cut the ropes!» Mingi screamed, and yet, you and Hongjoong kept fighting on the unstable bridge, although it definitely was not easy, even if your friends had taught you plenty of fighting techniques.

With a groan, you lifted the palm of your hands towards the disciples, thinking that using your magic was the best solution but, before you could even summon enough magic, Hongjoong’s hand roughly wrapped around your wrist, pulling it downwards and immediately annulling the spell.

«Why?!» you quickly questioned him, defending yourself from one of the Disciple’s attacks.

«Stop wasting your magic like that.» Hongjoong simply answered, not bothering to look at you; instinctively you scoffed, and with a twist of your dagger, you sent another disciple down the bridge, when a sudden terrifying sensation made you look down.

Before you realized that the wooden tiles you were walking on were falling into the cliff, Hongjoong’s weight crashed against you, literally preventing you from falling as well as he was tightly clutching the wooden tiles. Instinctively, you took a hold of the rope next to you, while your arm instinctively snaked around Hongjoong’s neck, too scared to die to realize that you were tightly hugging him for the first time in your life. Despite your fear, you tried to focus, partially annulling the impact of the unavoidable crash between the two of you and the side of the cliff, and sighed in relief when you managed to land gently against the rocky surface.

Now that you were finally still, you realized the compromising position the two of you were in: if you were practically hugging Hongjoong, his hands were tightly gripping the wooden tiles behind your neck and his boot was safely placed on top of one of them, meaning that one of his thighs was between yours and therefore, you were practically sitting on his thigh. Needless to say, beside riding together, you and Hongjoong had never been so close while facing each other; the sensation of his natural warmth completely enveloping you made you shiver, and despite the dangerous situation, Hongjoong was staring at you in a way you couldn’t decipher, his gaze burning into yours just like the fire that burned in his right eye.

Once again, you felt a weird and unfamiliar sensation tingling in your stomach, and the fact that Hongjoong’s gaze shifted from your eyes to your lips didn’t help; as if you were two little magnets, both of you were completely aware about the fact that you were slowly and tentatively inching closer to each other. Honestly, you were anticipating the feeling of Hongjoong’s lips against yours but, as your noses brushed against each other, your friends loudly called out your names.

«Hang in there!» you heard Seonghwa shout from above you, «We’ll get a rope and pull you up!»

Unbeknownst to the two of you, no one of your friend were going to lift a finger in order to try to help you; instead, they all shared the same thought as they all comfortably sit on the grass, ready to look extremely busy once they’d eventually saw the two of you climb up.

«Just to make it clear, if anyone tries to pull them up, will be personally drowned by me.» Seonghwa clarified to his friends while glancing down to the two of you for a last time with a knowing smile.

Hongjoong, eventually, had helped you rearrange your position so that the two of you could start climbing up; it was probably the best idea the two of you had since, few minutes later, the ladder totally disintegrated and fallen down. If you were to be honest, you didn’t know how your friends solved the situation with the Disciples, and at the moment, you didn’t care; you and Hongjoong were trying to climb up and judging from where you were situated, you wouldn’t have managed to see your friends for hours to say the least.

«Hongjoong,» you called to the boy which was effortlessly climbing the rocky cliff wall, but still, obviously slowing his movements in order to help you as well, «Hongjoong.» you repeated.

«What.» Hongjoong glanced down and furrowed his brows, confused about how could a daughter of Air be so afraid of falling off a cliff; among the two of you, the one who should have been more fearful should have been him, not you.

«I’m stuck.» you announced in a dramatic and panicked way; Hongjoong scoffed, carefully balancing himself to lean back just enough to give you any advice on where you should have used as an eventual lever.

«You’re not stuck-»

«Yes, I am! Look,» in order to prove your point, you nodded towards the rocky cliff’s wall, «I can’t balance myself on anything, nor up, nor below. Hongjoong, I can’t climb up, I can’t climb down; I can’t climb up, I can’t climb down.»

«Look, I’ll help you, okay?» to say that Hongjoong was trying to refrain himself from laughing was an euphemism, «place your hand in that recess, the one resembling a curlew’s nest.»

«A what?!» you shrieked, briefly glancing at Hongjoong to see that he was quietly chuckling to himself, «can’t you say “nest shaped” like everyone else?!» nonetheless, you listened to his advice and eventually, your hand was placed above your head and next to his leg.

«Now,» Hongjoong said, «place your feet on that ledge.»

«There is no ledge.» you said through gritted teeth.

«There is, I climbed before you did,» he mocked, «come on, it looks like a… Wildebeest’s hoof.»

«Wildebeest’s hoof?!» at this point, you were refraining yourself from using your powers just to physically fight him in mid-air, «I don’t know what a wildebeest looks like, should I know how a wildebeest’s hoof looks like?!»

Despite your constant bickering, you managed to climb up a little higher, and now you were right next to Hongjoong, which was basically doing twice the work since he had to keep an eye your movements as well.

«Why are you so scared?» Hongjoong’s question surprised you, as he was tapping the empty space where you should have put your hand, which was coincidentally, under his own, «if you fall, you can easily fly back up.»

«Who cares if I fall, Hongjoong,» your sudden answer surprised you as well, «you got that "Dragon" status, but I highly doubt that you can fly like one as well!» Hongjoong’s gaze burned into yours once again, before eventually, he adverted his gaze.

«You should worry about yourself, not me.» he added with a sigh, feeling strangely glad that you’ve been worried about him as well, «Let’s stay close, okay?» he added, and you nodded immediately.

Eventually, the two of you managed to climb up with extreme fatigue, and still, you did your best trying not to pay too much attention to the pleasing sensation that you felt every time Hongjoong wrapped one of his arms around your waist in order to temporarily helping you balance yourself.

In the end, your friends’ help consisted in grabbing your hands and pull you up as soon as they saw that you were basically arrived, after climbing literally half of the cliff’s wall by yourselves.

«Oh, just in time for dinner,» Yunho and Seonghwa said, momentarily taking their eyes off the pot on top of the bonfire, and you and Hongjoong exchanged an exasperated look as you were both sitting on the grass, trying to catch your breath while your hands felt numb. Wooyoung was apparently treating a wound on San’s thighs – who you didn’t remember getting hurt, while Yeosang and Mingi were busy fixing the archers’ bows.

As if he noticed your suspicious stares, Jongho quickly lifted his arms while pointing at the horses, «I used my magic bringing them here.» «Come on,» Hongjoong said, patting your elbow before standing up and walk towards the others, «you must be starving as well.»

That night, you felt so exhausted about what happened that you didn’t realize about the fact that you and Hongjoong had fell asleep facing each other, your hands millimetres apart.

CHAPTER VI

Without any warning, Hongjoong quickly moved his wrist upwards, creating an incandescent spear of fire that erupted from the ground while setting on fire part of the grass around itself as well, which you immediately avoided by jumping backwards, your eyes turning grey as you summoned your magic in order to move faster and to throw makeshift spears created with compressed air, and purposely making them land in a circle around Hongjoong.

Hongjoong’s talent of not having to focus in order to summon elemental magic due to his mismatched eyes definitely made him a powerful, dangerous and unpredictable opponent, thing which made your training even more intense since you could never get particular hints on what would have been his next move. Moreover, he definitely had more experience than you in battle, another thing that put you in a slight disadvantage. No matter what, Hongjoong’s expression always remained impassive and stoic, as if he was practicing some sort of ordinary, boring task instead of fighting, main reason why he managed to get under your skin, making you want to get better enough to see some kind of different emotion on his delicate handsome features.

«That was nice, you’re getting better.» he praised with a brief nod while briefly glancing around himself, his expression unbothered as if he was completely certain that you wouldn’t have hurt him, and you found yourself smiling at his words. Once again, you had to force yourself to focus on what you were doing, since it was crazy how Hongjoong could have such an effect on you.

Despite your noticeable progress with elemental combat, you were aware about the fact that you were lacking in any kind of fight that was close ranged and therefore, that’s how you and your soulmate would spend the majority of your time; even though you were completely used to how strict he was anytime you were training together, you were definitely much less used to how easily it was for him to manhandle you. Hongjoong kept patiently teaching you, giving you tips and occasionally correct your posture, and sometimes, you had to refrain yourself from leaning into his touch; you started to wonder if your actions were based on your real feelings or on your soulmate bond, since things have never been like this between the two of you.

Hongjoong’s grip on you was strong, and feeling his body pressed against yours made you briefly hesitate on your counterattack; however, as you felt your body starting to fall towards the ground, you tried to place your whole weight towards the opposite direction. As quickly as you could, you shifted in order to place your right foot behind Hongjoong’s right leg in order to reverse the situation and successfully make him fall on the grass, but the grip he had on you was strong enough to cause you to fall along with him.

It was strange, despite the fact that you spent hours training, how your heart immediately picked up pace because of such a close contact; you were sitting on Hongjoong’s stomach, your eyes wide and your lips slightly parted with stupor. Hongjoong’s hands were on your thighs, and he was looking at you as if he was waiting for your next move, which never came. There was something behind his gaze, something way too intense and complicated, something that you couldn’t understand, but it was enough to make you advert your gaze as you felt your cheeks heathen in embarrassment.

«I think I won.» you felt incredibly stupid at the fact that your voice trembled; you and Hongjoong rarely practiced hand to hand combat, it was always you and San, but the young assassin was definitely not your soulmate and therefore, you definitely felt nothing beside your desire of getting better at fighting.

However, this time, you were beginning to feel another kind of desire; it was completely unknown to you, and still, for once you felt as if you weren’t afraid by your own emotions. Of course, it happened to be harshly tackled on the ground by San and it also happened for the two of you to tease each other about how slowly you reacted, but San’s touch didn’t seem to set your soul alight or send small sparks all along your skin.

Hongjoong’s hands were warm, and as he slowly caressed your thighs until he reached the back of your legs while applying some pressure along the path his fingers were drawing, you instinctively found yourself timidly wondering how his touch would feel on your naked skin.

«Ah, really? I think you didn’t.» Hongjoong answered with a smug smirk, quickly snapping you out of your thoughts, but before you could question him, your perspective of the world changed in less than a second.

Thanks to the grip he had on you, Hongjoong had quickly pushed against your right thigh with his left hand, while his right forearm flew behind your head so that you wouldn’t get hurt in the process; your hands instinctively found their place against Hongjoong’s chest as your soulmate was now effectively pinning you on the ground, comfortably laying between your legs.

«Mind to explain what got you distracted?» Hongjoong questioned, gently removing his left arm from under your head in order to partially balance his weight on it by placing his chin on the palm of his hand and therefore, bringing the two of you irremediably closer.

“We’re soulmates and I’ve never been close to someone like this, beside San, which I basically consider as a brother”, you thought, “and you need to stop being so effortlessly handsome”.

Despite the silent conversation you were having with yourself, Hongjoong was unmoving, still gazing at you with his intense stare; you knew that he was waiting for an answer, and although he had dropped this kind of topic every other time, you realized that this time, he wasn’t settling for less.

«You-» you honestly admitted with a sigh without thinking about it too much, «No wait, I didn’t mean that-» Hongjoong’s eyes widened in stupor, while you felt your cheeks heathen in embarrassment even more, while your heart was wildly hammering in your chest.

«Well, little hood,» Hongjoong said, his smug smile never leaving his lips; he moved the hand which was holding your thigh in order to gently ghost his index finger above your lower lip, «you’re interesting, aren’t you?» he mumbled, probably much more to himself.

Exactly like the other time you happened to be so close in a somewhat compromising position, you realized that yet again, the both of you were unconsciously leaning closer; your noses were millimetres apart, and you almost felt the sensation of his lips against yours. It was as if you were certain that your soulmate cold feel the wild rhythm of your heart beating against your ribs until eventually, Hongjoong sighed, slowly moving back in order to sit up.

«Come on, little hood, let’s go,» Hongjoong stood up, offering you a hand to help you stand up as well, «the village is not that far.» you quickly took his hand and let him pull you up, so that the two of you could walk back towards the others.

Hongjoong held your hand for few seconds, and in the moment he left it, it was if as the thin wall of lies and secrets which was preventing the two of you to completely let yourselves go to your feelings, immediately stood impossibly tall between the two of you once again.

The remaining part of the day was spent travelling through thick fog and trying to identify the source of the horrible feeling that was creeping in your soul.

Moreover, you didn’t understand how your friends managed to orientate themselves so effortlessly because apparently, they seemed not to be bothered the least by the fact that the thick layer of mist prevented you from seeing anything that stood in front of your own nose, reason why you were constantly talking with each other in order to make sure that no one would have been left behind on accident. Although your friends had always fondly made fun of you for the fact that you always managed to feel colder than the others, it was as if the bitter cold was cutting your face; despite the presence of your soulmate right behind you, you couldn’t help but shudder every now and then, still feeling as if you were freezing and as if the cold was penetrating your bones, main reason why your actions suddenly got a little bit bolder.

Certain about the fact that Hongjoong would have been able to hold the reins even while using one hand, you applied a little pressure on his left hand, until he eventually let go of the thin leather material, thinking that you wanted to challenge yourself and try steering the horse in such a difficult situation. However, instead of taking the reins, you placed Hongjoong’s hand on your stomach, keeping it there long enough for him to realize that you completely meant your actions; your soulmate instinctively moved his hand a little further - until he touched your ribs on top the fabric of your clothes, before pulling you flush against his chest. Needless to say, Hongjoong never questioned your behaviour, and you never felt like explaining yourself; it was some sort of a silent agreement which the both of you enjoyed more than you were supposed to admit. Moreover, since you and your friends were forced to proceed in an extremely slow pace, Hongjoong’s chin was placed on your right shoulder, your bodies following the horse’s movement by inertia.

«Where are we headed?» you lively questioned your friends in order to keep the conversation going but despite their answers, you instinctively tilted your head to hear your soulmate’s soft mumble.

«The man which had sent us on a mission lives in Glish,» he explained, «since we won’t have any more mission at the moment, we’ll spend few weeks there.»

«Is it always going to be this cold?» you immediately mumbled back with a concerned voice, which made Hongjoong chuckle softly.

«It’s going to be even worse, sunshine.» Hongjoong’s new and sudden nickname made the strange butterflies you felt in your stomach do somersaults, and for a second, you wondered if he would ever return your feelings once he would have found out the truth about you.

«- incredible stock of crystals.» you heard Mingi say from ahead of you.

«Well, the village is pretty close to Serendia Shrine after all.» Yunho retorted from next to him; panic momentarily pervaded your senses and you were glad that your soulmate’s hold was somehow anchoring you to reality.

«The village’s defence system is great, tho.» Seonghwa commented, his voice coming from right next of your horse.

«I think the Disciples must have gotten the idea from the Lake of Tears.» Hongjoong said while moving his thumb in a gentle manner - almost as if he understood your silent and panicked state and was trying to calm you a little bit, and Wooyoung immediately agreed, «I love that legend.» you heard your best friend add from behind you and your soulmate.

«Aren’t the lake’s crystals not usable for magic?» Jongho questioned, riding next to Wooyoung and San, and you heard the latter echo his friend’s question as well.

«They are not,» Yeosang confirmed, quietly riding next to Yunho and Mingi, «no one has ever been able to use any of them for magic purposes.»

«Maybe that’s how the legend was born?» San questioned with a curious voice.

«The legend is real, you idiot.» Wooyoung immediately answered his lover.

“We will be close to the Shrine,” you thought; however, as you heard your bestfriend’s loud and contagious laughter, you were immediately reminded about the promise the two of you had made.

“I promised him I wouldn’t leave… I’ll have to figure something else out.” with an almost inaudible sigh, you tried to relax in Hongjoong's embrace, forcing yourself to ignore the uneasiness you still felt in your soul.

Glish was a small and quiet village surrounded by mist and by a thick, tall wall that ran along the perimeter, making it safe and protected; not far away, a cobbled path led to a small lake which had become the main destination of your lonely night walks. Surrounded by crystals that seemed to glow an infinite shade of different colours under the moonlight, the lake seemed to bring inner peace to your soul anytime you looked at it; it wasn’t particularly wide, and on a rare sunny and fog-free day, you were sure you would have been able to see it completely. Almost every night, you sat on one of the wooden benches, losing yourself in your thoughts until you decided it was definitely too cold to stay outside any further.

«Beautiful, isn’t it?» Wooyoung caught your attention by sitting next to you one evening; you nodded at him, asking to tell you more about the legend he mentioned few days earlier.

«A child of Water fell in love with a boy who couldn’t use magic at all,» Wooyoung’s voice explained, «for some reason, her family was opposed to their relationship and eventually, they killed the boy in front of her eyes. The legend says that she held his body and while she was mourning, she used all the magic in her in order to turn herself into the lake – which actually never existed before.»

Wooyoung stopped to chuckle at your momentarily confusion, «she said that they were in love, that they were “soulmates”. She cried and mourned his lover until she became the lake herself, and apparently… becoming her soulmate’s tomb as well.»

«That’s… Romantic…» you tried, «a little extreme, but romantic.» Wooyoung nodded at you, and a comfortable silence momentarily fell between the two of you as you were both gazing at the lake’s peaceful surface which was reflecting the weak light of the moon shining in the sky.

“Is love meant to be this tragic?” you thought, “Would anyone willing to do something like this for the person they love?” Spending your life in a lonely, dark and humid cell while being aware that you would end up becoming a human sacrifice, inevitably meant that you’ve never experienced anything that anyone was meant to experience.

After all, the first proper hug you’ve received in your life was the one that Wooyoung gave you when the two of you had talked about the fact that you were hiding the truth about your identity and being a childof Air.

«Wooyoung… How do you know if you like someone?» you timidly asked, feeling bashful for such a stupid and yet complicated question; even though Wooyoung – and San, particularly loved to tease you about the fact that you didn’t even realize your own feelings, he decided to ignore his instinct to tease you yet again for just one night.

«Well,» Wooyoung sighed, leaning back on the wooden bench and trying to find a more comfortable position, «I guess you feel different towards them… I believe it’s a collection of small little things that make you think about a certain person or, wanting to be with them,» you patiently listened to him, «I know I’m being repetitive and I hate myself for it but… During the years, anytime I was happy, I wanted to share my happiness with San, and anytime I was sad, he was the only person I wanted to comfort me.» you nodded again, keeping silent and exhaling a soft sigh because what Wooyoung had just said was exactly how you were feeling towards your soulmate.

«Do you like Hongjoong?» Wooyoung asked all of a sudden, and you were still so lost in thoughts that you instinctively nodded without processing his question.

«I-… I don’t know.» you admitted, playing with the fabric of your cape, «I feel a lot of things towards him and at the same time, I don’t know how I feel.»

«I think he likes you.» Wooyoung shrugged, as if he already knew what you would have said, and therefore, he didn’t pay too much attention to your words, «Well, it’s pretty clear he likes you, however…»

«I feel like there’s a wall between us.» you cut off his sentence; since Wooyoung was your bestfriend, you allowed yourself to confess to him about the times the two of you almost kissed, completely aware that your secret would have been safe with him. Nevertheless, you decided not to tell him about what Karanda had told you; the fact that you and Hongjoong were soulmates would have been your own personal secret.

Wooyoung listened patiently but with a big and teasing smile on his lips, before shifting his gaze once again on the lake’s surface, his expression growing incredibly gentle, «Hongjoong carries a big secret that’s not for me to tell.» Wooyoung said, shaking his head at your questioning gaze; «He will tell you himself and, from that moment, you can be sure that’s his way to tell you that he trusts you with his life.»

“How can he trust a liar?” you asked yourself as you tilted your head back, your gaze lost in the infinity of stars shining in the sky.

«And so, it’s raining.» you sighed, playing with the handle of the full chalice in front of you.

«Again.» San completed your sentence, before sighing deeply, the both of you glancing towards the big window of the tavern you decided to spend your evening in.

«My hair becomes a mess when it rains,» you heard Wooyoung’s dejected voice mumble from in front of you, and you quietly chuckled at his comment.

Since the day you arrived in Glish, you kept feeling distressed, and even though you couldn’t identify the source of your own feelings, you deduced it was because the village was close to the Shrine, since the last thing you wanted was for the Disciples to find your friends and capture them. Your friends lively conversations faintly reached your ears, as you partially pretended to take part in the conversation as well by asking something every now and then in order to distract yourself from your own thoughts. Moreover, at this point of the night, most of them were tipsy, leaving you, Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Jongho sober enough to realize you would have to take care of them.

«You really don’t like beer, don’t you?» Seonghwa’s gentle and soft voice interrupted your thoughts, and you simply shook your head with a frown, slightly scrunching your nose while looking at the boy sitting next to you; wordlessly, Seonghwa took a hold of your chalice, before replacing it with Jongho’s empty one.

«Are you trying to get me drunk?» the younger immediately questioned his friends.

«You talk as if you don’t have the highest alcohol tolerance among us,» Seonghwa giggled, before briefly nodding towards you, «little hood doesn’t like the taste of beer.»

«Oh!» Jongho immediately said, his gentle eyes wide in stupor, «You could have said it earlier.» he added; you thanked Jongho, only for him to shrug with a gentle smile.

If somewhere in between this small conversation you felt Hongjoong placing his hand on your thigh as he was still talking with Mingi and Yunho, you didn’t say anything, not even when you felt his grip on you imperceptibly tighten in the same moment Wooyoung decided to stand up in order to walk around the table and hug your shoulders.

«Seonghwa, you’re a child of Water,» Wooyoung stated, placing his chin on top of your head and loosely hug your shoulders, «can’t you make the rain stop?»

«Of course I can, but I won’t.» Seonghwa explained, «I shouldn’t interfere with natural events… On top of that, if you’re concerned for your appearance, I’m sure your boyfriend doesn’t mind.» he teased, and Wooyoung’s eyes darted towards San.

«You don’t?» he asked, his eyes wide as if he had never thought about asking him. San shook his head with an enamoured smile, and Wooyoung let go of your shoulders in order to quickly walk back to his lover with a cute and crooked walk, since he probably had too much to drink; both you and Seonghwa scoffed, laughing at your friend’s behaviour.

Few hours later, even without Seonghwa’s help, the rain stopped and you found yourself yet another time sitting on the bench next to the Lake. Silently cursing yourself for not bringing along a warmer cloak or some sort of blanket, you placed your boots on the wooden bench, hugging your knees closer to your chest as you shuddered yet another time.

As your eyes were fixed on the lake’s surface and the breath-taking scenery in front of you, you placed your chin on your left knee; the whirlwind of thoughts running around in your head was confusing you to say the least. From the moment your friends found out you were a girl, some things drastically changed; for example, San stopped teaching you hand-to-hand combat almost altogether. Honestly, there was something incredibly suspicious about the fact that he would always assign the task to Hongjoong, which made you quickly realize that his behaviour wasn’t consequential to the fact that you were a girl. Moreover, both him and Wooyoung seemed to find incredibly funny the idea of teasing you about the nature of your relationship with Hongjoong, thing which always left you incredibly flustered.

«I said I don’t like him!» you’d say every time the three of you were alone, glancing around in fear of being heard by someone else; as if it was a pre-arranged script, San would scoff at you while leaning on Wooyoung’s lap, which would immediately run his fingers through his lover’s raven and red hair.

«We really have a lot to do, don’t we?» Wooyoung gently smiled while looking down at San with his eyes full of adoration.

San shrugged, glancing at his lover with an enamoured smile before turning his attention on you once again, «We’re doomed, she doesn’t even realize she has a crush.»

«First of all, I don’t,» you immediately retorted with flushed cheeks, crossing your arms in front of your chest, «and look who’s talking.» you teased, immediately smiling about the fact that both boys stuck their tongues out in perfect synchronization. Despite their teasing, Wooyoung had never mentioned what you confessed to him, thing which you were grateful for.

Moreover, “confusing” was how you would describe your feelings and your relationship with Hongjoong.

If you were to be completely honest with yourself, nothing changed since he found out you were a girl but at the same time, you felt like everything between the two of you was different; you could definitely see that there were some sort of deep feelings well hidden behind his gaze but at the same time, you never brought yourself to inquiry any further. After all, between the two of you, a thick wall made of intertwined lies and secret was still standing tall. Not to forget, you and Hongjoong had never talked about the fact that you almost kissed twice; although sometimes the both of you would secretly recall the moment with anticipation, you both felt like there was some sort of line you were both too scared to cross. On top of that, something extremely suspecting was going on between Yeosang, Mingi and Yunho; they’d almost spend all of their free time studying, doing researches, leafing through the pages of their complicated alchemy books as they restlessly plotted something.

«We can’t tell you, yet.» Mingi had told you, his apologetic eyes shortly meeting yours as the cauldron in front of them almost immediately called his attention.

Beside the fact that they would sometimes disappear for a whole day on some kind of secret mission, Seonghwa and Jongho seemed to be the only ones that had remained themselves, showing you around town and acting like some sort of always concerned older sibling.

No matter where your thoughts went to, they always seemed to lead towards the same direction. Even if you knew Hongjoong was your soulmate, you didn’t know whether you would have been capable to love him; San and Wooyoung seemed to click so naturally, and you felt incredibly awkward even at the mere thought of letting the young leader know about your own feelings. On top of that, was it okay to let yourself enjoy such a fleeting happiness when you were ready to sacrifice yourself that easily to destroy not just the Disciples, but the Serendia Shrine as well? Despite your undeniable feelings, you knew that it wouldn’t be fair towards him; you’ve been repeatedly thought about kissing him, and deep inside, you knew he wanted the same.

However, you were still hiding from him the most important detail about your identity, and you were incredibly doubtful that his feelings would have remained the same if he happened to find out. The fact that Hongjoong was keeping a secret as well didn’t particularly matter to you, nor changed the nature of your feelings, because you were absolutely certain that his secret definitely couldn’t be worse than being the daughter of a murderer.

Completely engrossed in your thoughts, you didn’t realise about the fact that your soulmate was approaching you until his warm cloak had been wrapped around your shoulders.

«Are you trying to hibernate?» Hongjoong’s voice surprised you, and you tried to suppress an instinctive whimper due to how nice the sudden sensation of warmth felt.

«I forgot to bring my cloak,» you admitted, aware that Hongjoong was looking at you, «I didn’t think it would get so cold…»

Immediately, Hongjoong, wordlessly reached out to touch first your hands and then your cheeks, before mumbling a quiet, «you’re an idiot.» instead of answering, you simply chuckled, noticing Hongjoong’s exasperated – yet fond, gaze.

«You’re just lucky you never feel cold.» you teased wrapping his cloak a little tighter around yourself, your soulmate’s scent immediately surrounding you.

«A child of Fire subject to outside temperatures?» Hongjoong questioned with a smug smile, «that would be a tragedy, I would be the most shameful among the children of Fire.» he leaned back, his elbow placed on the bench’s backrest, and you rolled your eyes at him while hiding a smile under the fabric of his cloak.

You and Hongjoong sat quietly next to each other, and you would occasionally steal quick glances at your soulmates, admiring the faint lights of the scenery in front of you almost reflecting themselves in his bright crimson eye. It was almost as if blue few shades had added themselves to the red and yellow colours, making his eye look like a destructive and quiet burning flame.

«Wooyoung told me the legend behind the Lake of Tears,» you called out quietly, Hongjoong hummed gently, silently asking you to go on, «if you were in her place, would have you done the same?»

«What has fire to offer beside destruction, ashes and dust?» Hongjoong instinctively scoffed with a sad smile, «I believe I would have burned the village and the villagers out of rage and sorrow, but I could never create something this beautiful with my power,» Hongjoong seemed to be lost in thoughts for a few seconds, but then he quickly added with a bitter tone, «you know, the best I could have done would be frowned on by everyone else. "Oh yeh, Hongjoong, the child of Fire that burned up a village, flames to dust, out of grief".»

«It’s not true!» you replied immediately, without realizing that you slightly raised your voice, Hongjoong stared at you with a raised eyebrow, his bright eye shining in the dark, «Fire is warm, and while they’re travelling, people light up bonfires only when they feel safe. It’s not just… ashes and dust.» playing with your fingers, you were totally oblivious about the fact that Hongjoong’s bewildered expression had turned into a soft smile, before erupting into soft, gentle laughter.

Although a whirlwind of thoughts were running through Hongjoong’s head, he didn’t voice any of them; instead, he simply reached out, gently ruffling your hair in an affectionate manner. Hongjoong’s smile was more tender than you’d ever seen, and your heart throbbed and yearned as you gazed at each other, but he turned away.

«We should head back, it gets very cold here at night.» Hongjoong stood up from the bench, slowly heading towards the path leading back to the village and you sat there, watching him.

The scenery around you was more beautiful than anything you had ever seen in your whole life and yet, you only had eyes for Hongjoong.

Despite your constant doubts and your constant fears, you felt truly happy with your friends; sometimes, you felt as if you were a family but sadly, your small illusion of happiness had to crumble down on itself in the worst possible way, making you realize that you should have never grown attached to anyone in the first place.

Hongjoong, you, Wooyoung and Yeosang were looking for some particular herbs that would have helped the young alchemists on their researches, when eventually, you didn’t realize about the fact that your small group had gotten too far away from the village’s territory.

Part of the village’s defense mechanism was made up of fog, intended to confuse and disorientate eventual intruders and therefore, as soon as the thick layer of mist dissipated all of a sudden, you realized that you were indeed in danger but before you could react, it was already too late; as if they were waiting for you, several Disciples seemed to materialize out of nowhere, preventing you and your friends from running away. Not wearing your hood anytime you were with your friends meant that the Disciples instantly recognized you, reason why no one of them hesitated to use magic in order to materialize enchanted ropes in order to tie up each one of you. Sadly, you and your friends stood a little too distant from each other in order to actually come up with an effective plan to face them or even call the others for help. Moreover, as you saw one of the Disciples approach you with a smug and superior smile and his hand tightly wrapping a magic crystal, you started to tremble in fear; your friends didn’t understand why their attention seemed to be almost completely focused on you, until said Disciple decided to speak.

«Make sure she doesn’t escape again,» he urged to the two Disciples which were now standing next to you, forcing you to stand up as well due to the harsh grip they had on your elbows, «your father will be pleased to see you again.» his words were now directed towards you, and you felt your heart sink in your stomach, fear paralyzing you. The loud hammering of your heart was so intense you were almost certain that it was trying to crawl its way through your lung and set itself free through your mouth, judging by your sudden desire to throw up.

«Your father?!» you heard Hongjoong scream in disbelief, «You’re the daughter of that monster?! We trusted you! I trusted you!» if only you were in your right mind, Hongjoong’s words could have cut like knives, and the realization of your biggest fear coming true would have hurt even more; Hongjoong, Wooyoung and Yeosang had found out the truth about your identity in the worst possible way and yet, their bewildered words were reaching deaf ears.

No one of your friends missed your reaction, and beside the sensation of pure betrayal he was feeling in that moment, Hongjoong furrowed his brows at your visible panicked state; not only you had started shaking, but you started crying as well while either mumbling incoherent words or screaming with a screeching voice as you tried to set yourself free. In the vain attempt to escape the Disciple’s grasp, your feet made grooves into the soft ground in the desperate attempt to escape just to run away and hide yourself in a safe place, careless about hurting yourself in the process.

All the determination you had about destroying the Serendia Shrine seemed to vanish in thin air as soon as you saw your father’s shape walking out of the small crowd of Disciples; even just seeing his arrogant and proud way of walk was enough to cancel your every thought in order to replace it with pure feeling of dread.

«Traveling alone with men? I see you didn’t waste your time becoming a whore.» your father’s harsh words pierced you and you shuddered, leaning back and pulling against your restraints in order to escape his approaching figure. «You put an annoying stunt running away, I hope you realize you’re going to pay for it.» despite the fact that you were related by blood, his words were empty; as he always did, he was talking to you as if you were just another one of his experiments.

«Take her,» he simply ordered, and as he saw you trying to resist the Disciples’ hold, he scoffed in disgust at how annoyingly you were behaving, as he roughly yanked your hair back, «maybe this will calm you a little bit.» he spat and before you realized, the blade of an enchanted dagger pierced your abdomen and you immediately felt like coughing blood, before darkness enveloped your senses and you fell forward on the soft grass.

«Don’t touch her!» Hongjoong screamed, as he and the others tried to break free from the Disciples’ hold; the Serendia Shrine’s leader turned his attention towards your soulmate with an impressed whistle.

«Finally, I see a certain Dragon came to be killed once again.» he spat in disrespect, «take him as well.» even if Hongjoong could try to resist, even if Hongjoong wanted to resist, he let the Disciples drag him towards your unconscious frame, too worried about you in order to leave you alone.

«How about the others?» one of the Disciples questioned, nodding towards Yeosang and Wooyoung.

«I don’t care, these two are more than enough.» the leader simply answered, and as the whole group of Disciples walked away towards the Serendia Shrine’s direction while bringing you and Hongjoong with them, Wooyoung and Yeosang had been stunned with a magic crystal, a powerful spell erupting from it which made your friends lose consciousness and fall on the ground.

A pleasant sensation of warmth was spreading from your back, in stark contrast to the coldness of the cage you were in; you decided to open your eyes with a pained whine, wondering why there was warmth spreading from the wound on your abdomen in the first place.

«Hey, sunshine,» Hongjoong’s tired and gentle voice mumbled from behind you, and you slowly took in your surroundings, realizing that you were sitting between his legs, your back pressed against his chest as he was uncomfortably leaning against the cold and humid wall.

Since you have been thrown in what had always been your personal cage, Hongjoong’s hand has been on your wound in a constant healing spell, doing his best to make you feel better; you could feel that the wound was almost closed, and you silently wondered how much magic did he even use in the first place.

Tentatively, you adjusted your position in order to tilt your head towards Hongjoong, which looked both exhausted and beaten up.

«What happened to you?» you asked, your finger hovering above the blood of his split lower lip, and he shrugged, making you realize that he was about to avoid the topic.

«I’m sorry for earlier,» he sincerely admitted, his left hand brushing a strand of hair behind your ear, and you shook your head.

«I wasn’t expecting for forgiveness in the first place,» you answered, «I am really sorry.» you admitted, feeling tears cloud your vision.

Hongjoong kissed your temple in a silent answer, and after some time, you allowed yourself to fall asleep.

«We have a big problem.» Wooyoung and Yeosang nervously said as they quickly walked into their friends’ provisory headquarters in the rainy village.

«We found out who the leader of the Serendia Shrine is,» Yeosang said, rubbing his eyes in an incredulous manner as his friends questioned him, «he’s little hood’s father.»

«What?» San, Seonghwa and Mingi shrieked in disbelief; Wooyoung nodded, immediately going to sit next to San, which immediately put his arm around his lover, worried about the fact that he looked incredibly pale.

«She’s a traitor, then?» Yunho asked with furrowed eyebrows, as if he couldn’t believe the words he was pronouncing in the first place, «no, I don’t thing she could be-»

«She’s not.» once again, despite feeling hurt, Wooyoung firmly spoke in your defence, «We saw how she reacted when she saw him, and…» even if he trailed off, the others seemed to understand what he was implying. «I would put my life in her hands: she's not a traitor.» Wooyoung added with unexpected firmness.

«We’re running short on time to save her,» Yeosang finished his friend’s sentence, «both her and Hongjoong, actually.»

«They caught him as well?» Seonghwa asked his eyes wide and full of worry.

Somehow, it was as if Yeosang and Wooyoung’s nod set your friends in action; they were running short on time, meaning that they had to work even harder on their plan, and absolutely no mistakes were allowed.

Despite the disappointment Hongjoong felt once he had found out who you were, the following days after your capture were more than enough for him to understand that even if you and the Leader of the Serendia Shrine were related, the latter didn’t even considered you as a human being.

Both you and Hongjoong had been roughly tortured, forced to constantly use your magic against your will only for the Disciples to transfer your power into a series of magic crystals that they would have used for their own wicked purposes, leaving the both of you to weakly try to heal each other as best as you could once you were thrown once again in the cell.

Moreover, your constant panicked state was more than enough for Hongjoong to forgive the fact that you decided to hide who you were, admitting that after all, he understood why you decided to do it.

«I wasn’t meant to be a prisoner,» your voice trembled as you spoke, barely above a whisper, «I took my mother’s place, when he killed her.» Hongjoong’s arms tightened around you as he wondered what exactly you had to go through, gently rocking your bodies together while constantly repeating that you would have found a way to escape together.

Hongjoong’s heart clenched anytime you instinctively flinched away from his touch, trembling and making yourself as small as you could by bringing your knees to your chest and placing your cheeks between your knees until eventually, your soulmate managed to tranquilize you enough for you to realize that he would have never hurt you, patiently waiting for you to crawl back in his awaiting embrace.

Hongjoong had patiently listened to your confessions about what happened during the years you spent in the Shrine, glad that you decided to finally open up enough to tell him the whole story without hiding anything anymore.

«How does it feel to be back into business?» Seonghwa questioned San, as he helped him adjust the Serendia Shrine’s Disciple vest that the latter had stolen few weeks earlier.

«With these clothes on? Well, for a start I feel like I want to set myself on fire,» the younger replied, «are we sure this is going to work?»

Yeosang’s plan was theoretically simple, yet extremely complicated to perform; he had meticulously planned with Hongjoong every detail about how they should have proceed all together, but now that the young leader was caught prisoner and they were running short on time, everyone felt distressed.

First of all, San would need to sneak in the Shrine, pretending to be a disciple while using one of Yeosang’s alchemy stones in order to re-create a detailed map of the whole Shrine. Said stone was probably one of the best inventions of the young alchemist, since both San and Yeosang would need to hold two pieces of the same stone at the same time, and no matter how distant they were, a map would be drawn on the paper that Yeosang was neatly keeping on his desk.

Then, San would need to alert both you and Hongjoong about their plan, before stealing some vests for his friends as well; after that, Yeosang would enchant the stolen robes, making them look white instead of black for everyone who was not a Disciple.

At this point, the group would have split in two: Jongho and Wooyoung would have waited towards the northern part of the mountain, while the rest of them would help every prisoner escape, so that you and Hongjoong could walk out freely from the main entrance.

Once the prisoner were rescued, you would have reunited in order to finally fight the Disciples.

«I honestly hope it does.» Seonghwa simply answered his friend, his jaw clenched as they shared a simple nod.

Hongjoong leaned against you, too weak in order to stand up by himself; gently holding his face in your hand, you noticed blood trickle down from his temple and dried tears on his cheeks, and your breath hitched in fear.

Quickly, you helped him sit on the ground and between your legs, mirroring the position the two of you were in when you’ve woken up the first day, only that this time, you were the one healing him.

«I’m really sorry,» you confessed while believing your soulmate was asleep, feeling yourself on the verge of tears as you momentarily buried your face in Hongjoong’s neck, «we shouldn’t have met, this is my fault.»

«Stop saying nonsense,» he quietly groaned with a tired voice. Hongjoong weakly lifted his right hand in mid-air and your fingertips instinctively caressed the top of his hand, until your palm was pressed flat against it and the both of you interlocked your fingers together; Hongjoong brought your intertwined hands to his chest, right above his heart.

«It’s okay, sunshine, we’re soulmates.» he mumbled, and you immediately tensed up.

«How-» the question died in your throat, and Hongjoong chuckled weakly, before coughing up while clutching his ribs; you kept weakly holding him, waiting for him to lean back against your chest so that you could both hug and heal him once again.

«I was a prisoner as well, many years ago,» Hongjoong said, and you realized that the moment you’ve been anticipating had finally arrived, «I knew I had to be one of the sacrificial victims along with another girl, a child of Air - which I presume was you.» you nodded against his neck, and he went on, «However, I was stabbed by your- the Leader, because I refused to cooperate with him and his plans. I don’t know what happened then, I remember being dragged across the floor while feeling life abandoning me, and then it was as if I was in a non-existent reality.»

Hongjoong sighed, brushing his thumb against yours in a gentle manner, «I woke up, and I found myself in front of a Dragon… I was so scared at first! He was huge, no matter how far I looked, I couldn’t see the end of his tail; his scales were a faint red and his eyes- well, they were just like my right eye but slightly bigger.» he smiled, and you could see the fact that he was glancing at an unspecific point through the thick iron bars, his gaze unfocused. «He told me his name was Garmoth, and said my destiny was not fulfilled, yet. I… I don’t remember everything he said since I was ten years old back then, but… He talked about my soulmate being a child of Air, asking me how could I die before even meeting her.» Hongjoong chuckled briefly, shaking his head as if he was wondering how could he not notice something so obvious.

«“Karanda will never let me hear the end of it, if you die today,” Garmoth said, but of course, I couldn’t know what he meant. I never thought too much about it, I eventually found the others and our desire to destroy the Shrine occupied our thoughts. I started to believe that was my destiny, but now I don’t know anymore.»

«What do you mean?» you asked quietly, afraid to interrupt his train of thoughts.

«Maybe my destiny was simply meeting you and teach you how to effectively tackle someone on the ground without tripping on your own feet,» he joked, and you exhaled a breathless chuckle, annoyed at how could he joke in such a situation. «I came back to life, and since then, my eyes have always looked like that, even though I hide it anytime I’m not around the boys, well, they already explained to you how I gained the nickname of being the Dragon.»

«Thank you for telling me,» you instinctively smiled against the skin of his neck, and Hongjoong simply nodded at you in a silent answer, «When I visited the Harpies’ Ridge, Karanda told me that I was travelling with my soulmate, who was a child of Fire,» you decided to confess, and Hongjoong curiously tilted his head in order to side glance at you, «needless to say, I didn’t know you were my soulmate, neither what that word was supposed to mean and therefore, I had to ask Yeosang what soulmates were.»

Hongjoong snorted, finding the scene incredibly amusing, «I guess you know everything about soulmates, now.»

With a sigh, you nodded while holding him closer, finally identifying the young boy that had populated your nightmares for years.

«I saw you, Hongjoong.» you admitted, telling him about the nightmare of the boy being dragged across the floor in front of your cage, «That day, in the Shrine... I saw you die.»

«Soulmates never die.» Hongjoong simply said, and once again, you fell into a comfortable silence.

A Disciple unexpectedly entered your cage, and you immediately sat up in order to stand between him and Hongjoong’s sleeping frame; however, as soon as the small door closed behind him, he put a finger against his lips, before walking towards you with quick steps.

Now that he was close, you could identify San’s face partially hidden by the black vest, and your eyebrows furrowed in confusion; San quickly glanced at Hongjoong, before the two of you immediately focused on the noise of steps walking towards your cage.

«Damn it,» San cursed briefly, before turning his attention to you once again, «dodge.» before you could question him, he lifted his fist in the attempt to punch you in the face, action which you dodge as best as you could, happy that San decided to take it easy on you due to your weakened state. San caught the opportunity to pull you against him, making it seem as if he was pressing something against your throat in order to whisper in your ear about the plan their friends came up with.

«In three days from now, you’ll hear a loud noise coming from the northern part of the Shrine; ignore it, wait for the path to be clear and walk south, walk out from the main entrance, then wait for us.» San abruptly let you go, pushing you few steps away from him, «trust us.» he simply said, before walking out of the cage as quickly as he had sneaked in.

Only when you heard him order another Disciple that he already took care of you and Hongjoong, you noticed that you were tightly gripping onto something. Opening your hand, you noticed the small, thin metal needle which would have helped you free yourself from your handcuffs.

Hongjoong woke up few hours later, both his wounds and his health getting worse; as quickly as you could, you explained what happened to him, your voice barely above a whisper since you didn’t want to let yourself be heard from anyone else.

«I don’t know what’s going to happen to us, but we’ll get out of here, sunshine.» Hongjoong softly said and you nodded; you found it almost ridiculous how, despite his state compared to yours, he was still the one consoling you and giving you enough strength to face every day.

The Disciples admitted their intent to slowly kill your soulmate in order to destroy the last shred of sanity that kept your soul together and three days later, Hongjoong was still sitting between your thighs, his back pressed against your chest as he was constantly on the verge of passing out; his breath was way too soft and uneven, and you grew even more tense each passing minute.

The silence was almost deafening as you were waiting for your signal to go, and it was as if your own anxiety was bouncing off the walls of your cold and damp cell; you knew what was going to happen, and you knew your friends would have attacked in any moment.

As a loud thud coming from a part you couldn’t quite identify interrupted the quietness of the morning, you knew that the only thing you only had to do was to trust your friends and wait.

The organization was rather simple, Seonghwa, Yunho, Mingi, San and Yeosang would have helped the prisoners, setting them free and escorting them outside through the passage that Jongho would create through the mountain; Jongho and Wooyoung would have waited outside, ready to attack anyone which was either not a prisoner, nor their friend.

Thankfully, San’s previous job as an assassin required for him to have an excellent memory in order to be able to identify routes and escape routes and therefore, since he managed to draw a detailed map of the Serendia Shrine for his friend, they spent days studying it.

Jongho had summoned his magic, his eyes glowing green as he pushed with all his might against the side of the mountain, parting it just enough to create an escape route out of the Serendia Shrine.

«Are you ok?» Wooyoung asked, concerned about the fact that his friend suddenly seemed extremely tired; Jongho weakly nodded at him, and Wooyoung relaxed, his hand nervously tightening around his bow.

«Everything’s up to them, now.» Jongho said, his eyes lost in the darkness of the passage that lead to the end of the corridor on which sides were the prisoners’ cages; he briefly leaned against a tree, not mentioning to his friend that the spell he had just used had required an extremely big amount of magic.

If outside the Shrine neither Jongho nor Wooyoung dared to speak, inside the Shrine the atmosphere was reigned by pure chaos.

«Every Disciple not wearing a white vest is your enemy!» Yeosang shouted, as he and his friends moved quickly, either opening the cages’ locks with magic or by harshly pressing alchemy stones against the locks, «We created a path, follow us!»

«We had a great idea.» Mingi commented as he and his friend briefly made eye contact.

If the prisoners seemed wary of the presence of Disciples showing up with different coloured vests and claiming that they wanted to help, they immediately relaxed as soon as they realized that Seonghwa was using his powers in order to create small hints about which way the prisoners should follow in order to escape.

It was difficult, and it was extremely chaotic; Jongho’s action didn’t go unnoticed and instantly, the Disciples’ attention had been focused on what was happening, meaning that your friends had to fight on the way out.

Even if they were expecting for the Disciples to counter attack, the fact that some prisoners actually stayed behind in order to help was not expected; magic was effectively destroying part of the walls as the prisoners were fighting their way out.

Mingi and Seonghwa purposely stayed behind, but they had to admit that they had probably underestimated the situation; the Disciples could rely on their stack of crystals, while your friends could rely on themselves and on the prisoners that were less wounded.

At some point, a disciple managed to badly hurt Seonghwa’s leg, meaning that he had to rely on Mingi in order to limp out of the Shrine; as soon as few disciples created a spell using various magic crystals in a synchronized way, both Mingi and Seonghwa thought they would have never seen the sunlight again.

The crystals were glowing bright meaning that the spell was about to activate; Seonghwa weakly lifted his hand in front of himself, aware that no matter what, he wouldn’t have been able to neutralize it.

As they thought hope was lost, an incandescent wall of fire materialized in front of them, effectively killing some of the Disciples who were chasing them; Mingi quickly snapped his head back, just to see two girls with the palms of their hands raised enough to face the Disciples.

«Literal life savers, thank you!» Mingi smiled, tightening his hold on his friend, which groaned in pain, and the girls smiled at him, one of them briefly giving him a thumbs up.

«Come on, now, let’s go!» one of the girls said, before they all started proceeding again towards the exit Jongho had created.

«Save the wounded, elder people and children,» Yunho shouted as soon as everyone emerged from the mountain, «whoever feels strong enough to fight, must remain here!» much to your friends’ surprise, beside the most injured people, almost everyone had stayed behind.

Everyone was driven by the desire and desperation to destroy the Serendia Shrine for once and for all and therefore, as Jongho - helped by other children of Earth, summoned his magic to close the opening he had created and preventing any more Disciples to follow, the small clearing right outside the Shrine had turned into a war zone, children of nature facing Disciples which had less crystal than needed and therefore, inevitably about to meet their own death.

Silence was everything you could hear, meaning that your friends’ plan had succeeded; as your heart was racing, you managed to carry an unconscious Hongjoong out of the Shrine with fatigue, thankful to the others for having distracted everyone.

Although you wanted to summon your magic in order to momentarily make your soulmate weightless, you had a very definite plan in mind, a plan which required all the magic you could possibly be able to summon.

As soon as you felt the sensation of fresh air and the sun kissing your face you felt like crying, not believing that you managed to escape once again but most importantly, to save Hongjoong; you managed to put some distance between the two of you and the Serendia Shrine’s entering gates before checking your soulmate’s pulse.

Despite his concerning state, Hongjoong was still alive, and that was everything that mattered to you; with a soft sigh, you leaned in to press a gentle kiss against the corner of his lips, before you eventually stood up, walking in front of your soulmate in order to stand between him and the Shrine.

“I need to do it, before it’s too late.” you thought, and suddenly, an idea popped into your mind.

«Karanda, please, I need your help.» you mumbled with your eyes closed, reaching under the collar of your cotton shirt in order to tightly gripping your necklace; a whirl of wind disheveled your hair almost resembling a loving caress, and you took a deep breath, knowing that somehow, you were doing the right thing.

Closing your eyes, you focused as best as you could while summoning your magic, trying to identify where your friends were.

«Everyone is free! The bad guys are in the Shrine!» you heard Wooyoung happily confirm to his friends as they were running towards where you and Hongjoong were; with a sad smile, you weakly lifted your right hand towards the direction of the woods, immediately creating a transparent wall made of air, in order to prevent your friends to stop what you were about to do.

The blowing wind seemed to make the invisible wall glow, and with a last sigh, you lifted your palms towards the Shrine’s entrance.

The Disciples were not stupid, and neither was your father and therefore they were already hurriedly making their way towards the main entrance, since the one created by Jongho had been completely destroyed.

As soon as you saw the outlines of their shapes climbing on the stairs of the Shrine’s entrance, you focused in order to summon not only all the magic running through your veins, but your energy as well; you put your whole essence in the forbidden spell you have been taught many years ago.

“Elemental magic is unlimited, however, using too much of your magic within a short amount of time would irremediably consume you, as well.” Yeosang had said, and you realized how cruel the truth behind his words was; feeling the life flow out of you was painful, but your desire of revenge was strong enough for you to not stop your ministration, the voices of your friends trying to break the wall you created not reaching your ears.

As you started to close your hands, a loud thud was heard, followed by rocks progressively falling down from the mountain; with a pained scream, your fingers slowly met the palm of your hand, and the mountain crumbled on itself, becoming the tomb of the Disciples and destroying forever every trace of the Serendia Shrine.

With a satisfied smile, you turned to glance at Hongjoong for the last time, but before your eyes could focus on him, you let yourself fall on the cold floor, as darkness enveloped your senses.

It didn’t matter how loud your friends were screaming, telling you to stop, or how much strength they were using to try and break your spell; everything they managed to do was to watch the scene without having the possibility to intervene.

They saw you standing protectively in front of Hongjoong as if you were trying to shield him from your own magic, silently agreeing with each other that the quantity of magic you managed to summon was definitely too powerful for a human.

They heard you scream with the effort of unleashing a powerful spell but at some point, they had to cover their ears in pain, because your voice was filled of grief to the point it resembled the screech of a harpy.

For them, the sight was blood curling; you stood powerful, relying on yourself and sacrificing yourself for your ideals. Wooyoung felt his own heart break at the sight, wondering if he could have ever done anything in order to stop you or at least, make you change your mind; he would have never thought you were supposed to go that far, especially because now you had found friends, you had found a family.

This was also the main reason you decided to sacrifice yourself: you didn’t want anything to happen to them.

As your friends were carefully covering their ears, they started seeing a sort of veil of inconsistent and almost blinding light surrounding you, and for a second, it seemed that pure and white feathers erupted from the naked skin of your forearms.

The illusion lasted a blink of an eye, because you immediately fell lifeless on the floor, your hand millimetres apart from Hongjoong’s passed out frame.

Inevitably, your death caused the wall that was keeping your friends away from you to dissolve but, before they could approach you, a dozen of loud and angry screeches broke the silence, making them stop in their tracks once again.

A flock of harpies was flying in the sky right on top of your frame, before two of them eventually landed next to you, briefly looking like they were mourning, before eventually hoisting you up and carrying you away while flying high in the sky and towards their Ridge.

“Open your eyes,” you heard Karanda’s gentle whisper, but you still couldn’t understand where you were; you felt like floating, you felt weightless, you felt free.

It was almost as if you were one with the sky, confused about how you could feel like this while not using your powers; moreover, you clearly remembered that you died.

“Open your eyes.” Karanda’s voice repeated and you complied; long, dense and strong branches extended outwardly across a clear and boundless sky, the lights of an eternal dawn illuminating this foreign place.

Where were you?

Karanda was sitting on the branch next to yours, patiently waiting for you to wake up while staring towards the horizon, her gaze unfocused as if she was looking at something you couldn’t see.

«Am I dead?» you questioned her, ignoring the sting you felt in your throat.

«No.» she simply answered with a smile as she shook her head, her feathers-hair gently moved by the breeze.

«What’s happening now?» you questioned with visible confusion.

«You fulfilled your fate, young one, you’re free to live your life with your soulmate.» Karanda explained, «I believe that once again, we’re all in your debt.» she tilted her head in a hint of a nod.

Were you dreaming?

Karanda was about to bless you with the gift of life once again, just like it happened to Hongjoong, and judging by her words, he had survived.

«Karanda… The first time we met, you said something along the line of Garmoth fooling you again… What did you mean?» you nervously played with your fingers, hoping not to sound too annoying as you were adjusting your position on the branch you were sitting on, wondering what would have happened if you fell on accident.

Karanda smiled, completely aware that now, you knew who Garmoth was.

«I believe in this life, your soulmate goes by the name of Hongjoong.» she said, and you nodded, «as you know, Garmoth is the father of the children of Fire… You and Hongjoong are soulmates, meaning that anytime you happen to be born in human form, you will irremediably find each other. However…» once again, Karanda’s gaze was unfocused as she stared in front of herself, «… I was aware about Hongjoong dying in the Shrine when he was a little kid, but I was not aware about the fact that that tricker of a Dragon sent him back.» you nodded, taking in her words while being unsure on what to say; it didn’t matter what you were thinking about, you felt like you couldn’t come up with a proper answer.

«Go, now,» Karanda said, preventing you from thinking further, «someone is waiting for you.» she announced with a gentle smile, and you felt a question slip past your lips.

«Will I see you again?»

«In many, many years from now, my beloved child.» Karanda answered, her sweet voice making you want to stay with her even further.

However, everything it took was to blink; if you closed your eyes next to Karanda while being alone in what seemed like an otherworld, in the moment you opened your eyes you were laying in front of her throne at the Harpies’ Ridge.

With a weak groan, you sat up clutching your head, startled by the quantity of harpies staring at you; quickly looking around yourself, you realized that, the Queen was looking at you with a gentle smile.

«Finally!» the harpy which you had saved months earlier was sitting next to you, waiting for you to wake up as she was patiently brushing your hair with what definitely looked like a brush made of bones.

«Good morning?» you tried, looking around, remembering about Karanda’s words about someone waiting for you.

«Men can’t meet the Queen, silly head» your friend reminded you, almost as if she managed to read your thoughts.

«It's been two weeks.» she replied, helping you standing up with careful gestures.

«Two weeks?!» you shrieked in disbelief, hearing an amused scoff coming from Karanda.

«Shh! Don’t let the Queen hear you,» the harpy immediately silenced you, «she can still send you back, be thankful it took so little time.» she murmured while the two of you started walking towards the edge of the Harpies’ Ridge territory. You’ve already walked this path once, and it definitely didn’t seem to take so long; you faintly gripped the necklace Karanda had gifted you, aware about the fact that you were incredibly eager about meeting your soulmate and your friends once again.

«What if they’re angry?» you asked your friend, stopping in your tracks. «Of course they’re angry!» she answered immediately, «We are incredibly distressed as well! Your friends spent all the time at the edge of our territory; we were going insane!»

The two of you stared at each other in the eyes for few seconds, the realization that your friend had probably to prevent her own sisters from attacking your friends slowly settling in your soul; she shook her head at you as you apologized, mumbling that «we’re even, now.» and before you realized, you were in front of your friends.

The first thing you heard was your name being called; not “little hood”, not “sunshine”, not another nickname.

The first thing you saw was Hongjoong quickly walking his way towards you, ignoring the small group of harpies screeching at him in warning not to trespass their territory.

The first thing you felt were a pair of warm hands tilting your head slightly to the left, before Hongjoong connected your lips in your first kiss.

Instinctively, you recalled Lea’s words when she said that kissing someone you loved was the best feeling in the world, realizing that she was right; honestly, nothing could have ever properly prepared you to the feeling of kissing your soulmate.

Hongjoong’s kiss made you feel complete, made you feel safe, made you feel home; at some point, you were sure that few droplets of tears of happiness had started to flow from your eyes.

«I thought I lost you.» he murmured, placing his forehead against yours.

«Soulmates never die.» you said, quoting what he told you weeks earlier, wiping the last traces of dried tears from his cheeks. «Move the fuck out the way,» Wooyoung harshly said with a trembling voice, as he was gently pushing against Hongjoong’s shoulder, «let me hug the personification of catastrophe I have the disgrace to love and cherish.» Wooyoung hugged you close, murmuring a quiet, «If you do something like this again, I’ll make sure to bring you back to life just to kill you myself.» and you hugged him just as tight with a smile on your lips.

«I missed you too,» you said, and Wooyoung partially detached from you in an abrupt way in order to retort sarcastically, before the words died in his throat.

«Oh, good grief,» Wooyoung mumbled in awe instead, «your left eye! You really look like Hongjoong’s girlfriend, now.»

«What about my eye?» you furrowed your eyebrows, touching your left cheekbones with a confused expression.

«It’s grey.» he announced, and with the excuse that everyone else wanted to see your mismatched eyes as well, you ended up being hugged tight by everyone of your friends, everyone of them happy about the fact that you were back.

Sitting once again in front of Hongjoong on his horse, your gaze was unfocused, as you absently participated to your friends’ lively conversation as you were headed to the small port village where all of them seemed to have bought a house.

«Why do you look so gloomy?» Hongjoong questioned, and you shook your head.

«My life has been focused on my will to destroy the Serendia Shrine, I don’t know what I am supposed to do now.» you admitted with a weak shrug.

«You could always focus on the future, then.» Hongjoong’s gentle voice replied few seconds later, and you instinctively sighed.

«What’s there to focus on? I had resigned myself not to have a future at all.»

«You could imagine a future together with me.» Hongjoong hesitantly said, and you smiled.

“As if I would say no,” you thought, intertwining your fingers with his right above your lap in a silent answer.

“You’re free to live your life with your soulmate.” Karanda had said, and suddenly, as if it was a magic trick, the disordered pieces in your soul seemed to find their own place in a matter of seconds; you were with your friends, but most of all, you were with Hongjoong. Everything would have been okay, in the end.

Few weeks later, you slowly started to grow accustomed to your new life; for a start, you and Hongjoong were now living together in his house – giving San and Wooyoung further reasons to tease you. The fact that all of your friends fell in love with the same village to the point where they all decided to buy a house in it was both amusing and heart-warming; no matter what, now that your friends were temporarily off duty, you always had the certainty of knowing where to find them if you needed anything.

Hongjoong was aware about the fact that you had never had intimate contact with anyone, reason why he always made sure to follow your lead, keeping your kisses as innocent as possible, even if sometimes the intense feelings amplified thanks to your bond were too hard to ignore. Needless to say, you literally didn’t know what to do with yourself; you were glad for how caring and sweet Hongjoong was, but sometimes, you felt yourself wanting to give and yearning for more, even though you didn’t know what you exactly wanted in the first place.

As the dim moonlight illuminated your shared bedroom, Hongjoong tilted your face towards him, and even in the darkness, his tender gaze seemed to sparkle. He traced his thumb lightly along your lower lip, and you gently reached out, moving his hand away from your face just enough to close the distance between the two of you in a tender kiss. Hongjoong’s lips were soft and warm as they moved gently against yours; they were delicate, sweet kisses, and it felt almost as if he was taking his time, learning how you tasted, how you felt, and the way you responded to what he did.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you kissed him harder, no longer too overwhelmed to appreciate how good Hongjoong’s lips felt, and you heard him make a soft, pleased noise in response. Eventually, somewhere between your soft and passionate kisses, you found yourselves laying on his soft mattress, his body moving with slow and gentle movements as the two of you made love for the first of countless times. You never felt anything like this, you felt like melting, as if he was consuming you whole while setting your soul alight, and you found yourself wanting more and more, even if you didn’t know what it could have meant.

Hongjoong smiled against your lips and you smiled as well, suppressing a whimper since it was as if he could hear your thoughts; his kisses deepened further, until it was hard to think, to do anything but feel. Hongjoong was holding you tightly against him, and you were so dizzy with need that you weren’t sure you’d be still able to stand without his embrace.

«Is it okay if I do this?» Hongjoong’s strained voice asked as he gently lift your thigh a little higher, just for it to circle his hips; the new angle made everything feel even more intense and you nodded, enjoying your soulmate’s soft moans of pleasure.

«I don’t,» you whimpered suddenly, your hands timidly circling Hongjoong’s waist; your soulmate immediately stopped his movements, glancing at you with a concerned expression, fearful of having hurt you, «I don’t know what to do.» you shyly confessed, and Hongjoong’s smile was the more tender you’ve ever seen.

«I’ll tell you a secret,» he sighed, leaning closer to your ear, «I love you so much, I don’t even know what to do with myself.»

The unexpected confession made you relax, and then you understood; despite the fact that Hongjoong was more experienced than you were, it was your first time together, as a couple, as soulmates. It wasn’t meant to be perfect, you weren’t expected to know exactly what you were doing, since you’ve never did anything like this in the first place; it was meant to be messy, it was meant to be passionate, it was meant for you to learn how each other felt. It was meant for the two of you to understand the fact that no matter what, nothing would have made you feel like when you were in each other’s company.

Moreover, Hongjoong found adorable the fact that you were puzzled about the most trivial things as where to place your hands or where to touch, and he found even more adorable the fact that you tried to hide the fact that you were feeling pleasure by covering your lips with your hands.

«I believe these,» Hongjoong said, gently wrapping his warm hands around your wrists in order to place them next to your head on the mattress, preventing you from moving them again, «belong here, and you should let me hear your voice a little more.» he added at last, whimpering the last part against your ear, and you complied, giving yourself completely to your soulmate.

«Hongjoong! Little hood!» you heard Wooyoung’s voice call from your porch – which was right under your shared bedroom; you and Hongjoong were still laying naked under the covers, cuddling in your post orgasm bliss.

«Come on, we’re going to be late for the village’s festival!» Seonghwa added, and you felt Hongjoong’s arms tighten around your frame, as if to silently ask for few more minutes.

«Wait, Wooyoung, the lights are off…» you heard San’s voice as well.

«… Oh, good grief,» your bestfriend’s voice commented, as if he was surprised about something obvious he didn’t notice, «Oi, you two! I’m not ready to become an uncle, yet!»

Wooyoung’s sentence made the two of you giggle, before eventually, Hongjoong rolled the two of you around just enough so that he could drape the blanket completely over your frames, in order to steal another kiss from your lips.

EPILOGUE

Magic was pretty common in the world; actually, some must even say it has somehow became an essential resource in the everyday life. However, after five years since the day you met your soulmate and your friend, the world seemed to have completely changed.

For a start, the news of Serendia Shrine being destroyed immediately spreaded like wildfire; the survivors immediately ran back to their families, whom welcomed them with tears in their eyes and their heart overflowing with happiness and relief. Children of Nature no longer needed to hide their powers and therefore, mentor figures started teaching younger people how to use magic without either being scared of it, or wasting too much energy; slowly, children of Nature became a fundamental resource in everyday life.

Nevertheless, although many former prisoners knew exactly who saved them, neither you nor your friends have decided to take the merit of what happened and therefore - formally, a group of reckless and brave heroes saved the lives of countless people, finally putting an end to years and years of suffering and unspeakable tortures.

Regarding you and your friends, the whole group had claimed that - over the years, they had managed to earn enough money in order to finally take a vacation from their job as mercenaries and so, you were all living in the same village.

Mingi, Wooyoung and San became combat teachers, organizing small classes in order to teach young warriors and curious how to master different fighting styles.

Yeosang, Mingi and Yunho opened their own alchemy school accessible to anyone interested in the subject; it was small and humble, but their love for alchemy made it seem as if it were one of the most prestigious alchemy schools that could even compete with those of the capital.

Seonghwa, Hongjoong, you and Jongho became mentors, teaching little kids and young adults how to master their own magic without unconsciously hurting people around them.

As for you and Hongjoong – much like San and Wooyoung, you were now living together and happily married. Hongjoong had proposed in the most natural and random way on a windy and dull evening, as you and your friends were once again spending the night at the village’s tavern, playing a new game of card that Mingi and San had recently learned.

«You know what would be a great way to end the evening?» Hongjoong had whispered against your ear, and you curiously glanced at him, silently urging him to go on; Hongjoong gave you a smug yet tender smile, before saying «Let’s get married.» and that’s how you, Hongjoong and your friends had ran to the nearest chapel, getting married in a sudden and intimate ceremony.

«Hongjoong,» you groaned, massaging your stomach in the vain hope to make the pain disappear, «I feel strange.» you whined as you turned your position in bed, lying on your side in order to alleviate the imminent instinct to throw up. If you were to be honest, you’ve been feeling terrible for at least the last week, and it wasn’t rare for you to feel the instinct to throw up on random occasion; however, Hongjoong – being the gentleman he is, always kept your hair tied up in a makeshift ponytail and immediately comforted you anytime it happened.

«I think you should see a doctor,» Hongjoong affectionately mumbled while moving a strand of hair behind your ear, «I can ask Seonghwa to take my place for the day.» Instinctively, you nuzzled your cheek against Hongjoong’s warm hand, before shaking your head, your gaze locking with your husband’s worried mismatched eyes.

«It’s okay, I’ll ask Wooyoung to come with me.» although the worry remained evident on Hongjoong’s delicate features, he settled for not forcing the topic and nodded, kissing your forehead before getting ready for work.

Wooyoung, however, spent the day with a suspicious smug smile plastered on his face; for a start, the doctor at your village was nowhere to be seen and therefore, you and your bestfriend took a carriage in order to go to the nearest one.

«Why are you smiling like that?» you scoffed as Wooyoung gently helped you climb down the carriage.

«I wonder how oblivious you can be, mommy.» Wooyoung giggled with a wide grin; his words indeed puzzled you because you had never considered the fact that you could have been pregnant but before you could ask your bestfriend for further clarifications, a lively and familiar voice caught your attention.

«Are my eyes deceiving me? Little hood, is that you?» your eyes widened and your head immediately turned on your left just to see Lea with her arm interlocked with a young man, as they stood few steps away from the two of you; needless to say, you wasted no time walking towards her and she immediately hugged you as close as she could, saying how happy she was to see that you were alive and well.

«Of course she is okay,» Wooyoung said, «she married Hongjoong.» he suggestively told Lea, which immediately brought her hands in front of her mouth in order to hide the wide smile that immediately erupted on her lips.

«No way!» she exclaimed with an excited and joyful shriek. Of course, Lea was curious, and of course, you ended up telling her almost everything about how your relationship with Hongjoong had bloomed; however, Lea never questioned your mismatched eyes, because she already knew. Lea was more than eager to inform you that the young and handsome man standing next to her was in fact her husband, which had unexpectedly turned out to be one of the Serendia Shrine’s survivors. The man – Changbin, had told Lea about the small group that saved them, and she immediately recognized them as Hongjoong and his friends and therefore, she didn’t need to ask you anything; although her curiosity wanted her to ask you, she was happy with knowing that you were safe and happy.

After all, now that the Serendia Shrine had been destroyed, you had all the time in the world to meet each other and spend some time together and to share important secrets. Needless to say, from the moment Changbin came back, Lea stopped working at the brothel altogether, and now they were living their life and enjoying their marriage as happily as they were doing before the Disciples captured Changbin.

After your encounter with Lea and Changbin, your day basically passed by in a blur; the doctor ended up confirming what Wooyoung was teasing you about, and you spent the travel back towards your village in complete silence.

«Oi, little hood,» Wooyoung mumbled, wrapping a hand around your shoulders and you momentarily smiled at the mention of the familiar nickname, «why are you so sad about it?»

«What if Hongjoong won’t be happy about it?» you wondered, even though you were absolutely aware about the fact that there wasn’t a single possibility about your soulmate being unhappy about something like this; to confirm your thoughts, Wooyoung scoffed.

«He’s going to be ecstatic, about it,» your bestfriend said, «moreover, the two of you have been teaching kids for years now… It’s time to get your own.» Wooyoung playfully winked, and you managed to let out a breathless chuckle at his words.

Hongjoong knew you were hiding something from him: for a start, you absolutely were not capable to hide your own emotions and therefore, your husband could constantly read you as if you were an open book.

«Come on,» Hongjoong said, fearing for the worst and consequently deciding to confront you right after dinner as he caged you between his warm body and the sink, «what did the doctor say?»

As you placed the dishes back in the warm water in the sink, you took your time to dry your hands with a towel before eventually mumble that you were going to be parents; however, your voice was almost inaudible, causing Hongjoong to gently turn you around so that you were facing each other.

«We’re going to be parents.» you announced, not bringing yourself to look at him in the eyes; Hongjoong remained silent, and each passing second made you tense even more.

«What?» Hongjoong’s voice caused your gaze to drift towards his, and you immediately realized how stupid you had been to be worried about his reaction in the first place; Hongjoong was looking at you with his mismatched eyes as wide as the moon and a wide and incredulous smile plastered on his lips.

«Really?» Hongjoong repeated; his happiness was written all over his features, and instinctively you smiled, nodding in confirmation, «What’s the problem, sunshine?» Hongjoong questioned, your nervous expression didn’t go unnoticed, as he delicately took your head in his hands.

«Of course I’m happy about it,» you immediately told him, «but I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a mom… What if I’m not good at it?» you admitted, your worried gaze burning in Hongjoong’s enamoured one, which immediately softened.

«I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a dad, either.» Hongjoong admitted as well, rubbing your nose against his, «I’m sure you will be great, sunshine, we’re gonna make it.» eventually, you loosely wrapped your arms around Hongjoong’s waist, as the cloud of doubts were gradually dissipating from your head.

«We’ll be okay.» you eventually said, and Hongjoong immediately leaned in to place a gentle and brief kiss on your lips.

«Of course we’ll be okay, sunshine,» your soulmate smiled as mismatched enamoured eyes met yours, «do you believe in fate?»

That’s how your future with Hongjoong had started, aware that no matter what, life after life, you would have met and fell in love, again, and again, and again.

all works © lettersfromaphrodite

Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories. I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.

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lettersfromaphrodite · 1 year

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«flames to dust.»

― pairing : Chris x fem! reader ― content warnings : soulmates au, angst with a happy ending, magic au, medieval settings, implied smut, pay attention to Seungmin and Hyunjin's dynamics, locations and sceneries are inspired from Black Desert Online as always, a few LOTR quotes here and there because of reasons,⚠️mention of violence, mention of death, character death(s) the main pairing is safe, mentions of blood, mention of the skinning tattoo technique, mention of violence, choking (sadly, not in the kinky way!!!)⚠️ ― word count : 43k ― notes : she's back. she's longer. she's a one shot // special thank you to my girlies @stressedfranya and @helav98, this fic wouldn't have existed if not for your support and our continuous brainstorming // Lea's character is inspired from my lovely and beloved @minbiny, aka my wonderful soulmate.

― summary :

The only certainty you had, was that you were running out of time. As fate repeated itself and the pressure of being responsible for the fate of countless people had been placed on your shoulders, would you allow yourself to love and to be loved in return?

PREQUEL 🔮 : «do you believe in fate?»

PROLOGUE

The “Cursed Castle” stood tall at the world’s end: made of lava stone and golden amber, its menacing appearance was enough to make people fear everything about who lived in it and within its increasing territories. Moreover, dark and thick clouds were constantly hovering above the Castle’s territories – almost shielding it from the light of the Sun, therefore making it impossible for even the faintest ray of sunlight to reach over those numerous layers of darkness.

The fallen King had once been a good, adventurous and magnanimous man; as a child of Fire, he had the pleasure to meet both Garmoth – the God of Fire, and his soulmate – a child of Air. Actually, some even said that the King had lived a life full of love, showering both his wife and their daughter with affection, until that love that once filled his everyday routine had been abruptly taken away from him without any notice.

From the moment his wife had passed away because of a strange and incurable illness, the King had gradually withered from the path filled with joy and love he had always walked on, just to venture himself in a mysterious and darker path. Slowly, a mysterious menacing power took hold of both his heart and soul, mutating his elemental powers and therefore, changing the appearance of his once bright red eye – now reduced to a black, void and emotionless orb. Within the years, the sadness of losing his soulmate had turned into an obsession, and with the only goal to tear apart the four Gods one by one, the King started to gather children of Nature under his dominion, succeeding in tainting their conscience and changing the nature of their powers as well. With the help of his seven long-time friends – eventually called the “Seven Generals of the Underworld”, the King had managed to keep the world in check and constantly on the verge of war, becoming a different but bigger threat than the Serendia Shrine ever was.

To the Gods, it was impossible to understand how a single man had managed to generate to create such a dark power completely by himself; no matter how deep their sorrow was, humans were not supposed to generate a brand new kind of magic, let alone corrupt people – almost hypnotizing them, to join their army. At some point, the Gods suspected for their nemesis – the God of Corruption, to have arisen once again, even if the possibilities were highly improbable. Before the world as it was known took shape, an otherworldly battle had taken place – modelling the sea, mountains and the sky into a different shape than the one people were used to see; many Gods fell trying to defeat Kzarka, and only four of them managed to survive, sealing him away with extreme fatigue. Therefore, the four Gods started to suspect that the fallen King had managed to found something he was not supposed to, something related to the battle against the God of Corruption, something that could dangerously increase his natural power while feeding on his desire of revenge.

As for you, the fallen King was probably the man you loved the most. Even if you were constantly trying to ignore the fact that the more time went by, the more he lost his self and his memories to darkness, the faint hope of managing to save both him and your cherished uncles kept burning in your heart, a faint hope that would have soon flared up.

As dejecting as it was, however, you spent years silently watching your father losing his memories the more his power increased, to the point that sometimes he couldn’t recognize you – his own daughter, as well. «I know your face…» he would mumble, lost in thoughts, as his narrowed eyes scrutinised your features; he’d mumble your name few seconds later, a kind and fond smile suddenly growing on his lips and an identical one growing on yours, accompanied by the faint trace of tears forming in your eyes and sorrow enveloping your heart in a tight hold. Although you were a child of Fire, everyone had told you that your resemblance with your mother was uncanny and therefore, sometimes, you wondered if your father had forgotten about your mother as well.

The heels of your leather boot clicked against the marble floor in a rhythmic way, as you were making your way towards a familiar figure standing against the railway of one of the Castle’s wide balconies; you politely greeted him, and he gently tilted his head towards you in a hint of a bow.

«Uncle Seonghwa,» you gently spoke, breaking the temporary and comfortable silence, «could you tell me something about mom and dad, please?» you asked him, as the memories of your parents slowly seemed to be held hostage by a threatening fog, almost preventing you from remembering what you wanted to.

«They loved each other a lot,» Seonghwa answered with a sad smile, «your mother had always been an excellent fighter, she would be proud of you.» he added, and you nodded briefly, a small smile adorning your lips. After that, Seonghwa told you about the adventures he lived with your parents, and you closed your eyes while listening to his words, trying to imagine everything as best as you could.

Unbeknownst to the two of you, someone else was leaning against the doorframe, hiding from your sight; his head was slightly tilted, and his gaze was unfocused, as if he was suddenly remembering everything his long-time friend was telling you.

Someone, no one but the fallen King – Kim Hongjoong.

CHAPTER I

«Wake up, sleepy head,» you acknowledged Wooyoung’s gentle voice with a groan as you shifted in bed, covering your head with the blanket, reluctant to wake up.

«Five more minutes... What time is it?» you mumbled tiredly with your eyes tightly closed, as you felt the bed dip under Wooyoung’s weight.

«It’s hard to tell,» Wooyoung replied, gently removing the blanket from your head as he glanced out of the window; it was almost impossible to keep track of time due to the fact that a thick layer of clouds was constantly preventing anyone from glancing at the sun, «according to Yeosang’s watch, it should be seven in the morning.»

«What in the world do we need to do at seven in the morning?!» you questioned him, rubbing your eyes in the vain attempt to wake up faster. Something in the smile erupting on Wooyoung’s lips was definitely tense, but you were still too asleep to notice that something was different; Wooyoung simply answered that the two of you needed to go shopping, because according to him, you absolutely needed new clothes.

«It’s like talking with your mom all over again,» he replied with a brief giggle as you tried to convince him that the clothes you already owned were more than enough, «hurry up, or I’ll call Jongho.» he eventually said, and as if he spoke some magic words, you immediately sat up in bed, ready to wash up and get dressed, despite your prior complains; being woken up by Jongho meant the whole mattress being flipped – with you still on it, towards the ground as soon as you said you didn’t want to wake up. Of course, Jongho would still be careful and help you up, but for you it had become an unconditional reflex: as soon as you heard either his name or his voice first thing in the morning, any trace of sleep seemed to vanish from your soul in the blink of an eye.

«Hongjoong wants you to have this,» Wooyoung added, placing a velvet box on your bedside table, before walking out of your bedroom.

Both being incredibly curious and both hoping that you father had returned to his old self, you reached out as soon as the wooden door closed behind Wooyoung’s shoulders, and getting a little more comfortable on the bed, you hesitantly opened the small box. A silver earring laid alone on top of a small cushion made of black silk, it was nothing too precious, but it still managed to make your heart swell; a small feather carved in silver hung from a small circle, and you immediately realized that it was the feather attached to the necklace that your mother used to wear everyday, as if it was her second skin.

Although you were incredibly happy about the present, a doubt immediately formed in your heart: since your mother had passed away, Hongjoong had always worn her necklace, so, why was he suddenly gifting it to you? A whirlwind of questions started to form in your head as you washed up and got ready for your date with Wooyoung, and as you headed out of your room, the earring was safely dangling from your left ear.

The citadel extended around the Castle for a few miles, and it had nothing to envy to other cities, not even to the Capital. The marketplace was vast, and – although the dubious morality the people living within the kingdom’s territories had, they were always cheerful and lively. Hongjoong had managed to corrupt an almost unquantifiable number of children of Nature, but even so, not everyone following his lead was corrupted, nor could use elemental magic: those who were organizing the market – or the ones taking care of the commercial matters, were almost always their uncorrupted partners.

It was not uncommon for a husband which couldn’t use elemental magic to follow his wife just because he was worried for her, and vice versa; eventually, those people accepted their fate, and tried to understand the purpose behind Hongjoong’s wicked plans, tying to convince themselves that it was for their own good as well.

Hongjoong’s kingdom stood in a strategic position: dangerous and steep mountains stretched around the citadel to the east, south and west, while a part of dense woodland extended to the north; mighty rivers naturally moulded through the mountains and passed through part of the undisturbed woods. Therefore, not only was the kingdom almost completely impregnable, but it didn’t need any kind of external trade: Hongjoong’s kingdom was completely self-sufficient, and in continuous expansion. Over the years, even clothings had changed significantly: dark colours were the only thing people wore, and leather details or harnesses were used in the most various combinations, whether for aesthetic purposes or strategic ones – it wasn’t rare for daggers to be attached to someone’s thigh. This different and singular fashion became extremely characteristic, to the point that anyone could easily notice when inhabitants of the cursed kingdom ventured into foreign lands.

For the whole morning, Wooyoung seemed a man on a mission: not only he managed to buy a huge quantitative of clothes, but he managed to buy clothes which definitely did not seem to belong to the general aesthetic everyone used to wear. As the two of you were carefully making space in your wardrobe for the things you bought, it didn’t go unnoticed how Wooyoung almost seemed to wanting to hide them into the left corner of the wooden structure; whether you had any doubts about his behaviour, you decided to keep quiet.

Honestly, recently you had noticed a slight change in Seonghwa’s, Wooyoung’s and San’s behaviour; they’d glance worriedly ad each other every now and then, or entertain what seemed a dramatic argument just to immediately change their behaviour as soon as you approached them, clearly tying not to worry you. Although you tried to question them few times, you decided to eventually drop the subject, since it was clear that no one was going to tell you anything about what they were worried about.

«I can’t believe I still look so good,» Wooyoung spoke all of a sudden, catching his reflection of the mirror next to the two of you; instinctively, you scoffed while hiding an amused smile. Time passed extremely slowly, and life expectancy was extremely long, especially for children of Nature. It wasn’t rare to meet people few centuries old; unless one’s life ended by illness or battles, people aged extremely slowly. However, you had to admit that what was happening to Hongjoong and the others was definitely not normal: twenty four years had passed since the day you were born, and nothing had changed in their appearance. Eventually, you convinced yourself that it was yet another consequence of the darkness corrupting their hearts; but still, you silently questioned why it didn’t have any effect on you.

«Stop being so surprised,» you joked, «I bet San makes sure to tell you at least twice a day.» as you sat on your bed once again, you saw a confident smile appearing on Wooyoung’s lips, who was still looking at himself in the mirror.

«At any chance he gets, actually.» he clarified, talking about his beloved husband, and you shook your head; you had to admit, it was refreshing to see them being so in love despite everything happening around you, and once again, you couldn’t help but wonder whether they would one day forget about each other, just like what was happening to your father.

A sudden knock on the door caught your attention, and the door slightly opened only for Mingi to partially lean into the room; there had been a day where Mingi cherished for you and showered you with affection just like how Wooyoung, San and Seonghwa were still doing, but sadly, those days were long gone. Mingi had been one of the first ones to be completely corrupted by Hongjoong’s power, and therefore, his behaviour towards you was strictly formal, going from teaching you how to fight without tripping on your feet, to talking to you only if needed.

«Hongjoong summoned us for a meeting.» he simply said, before quickly closing the door, as if he had never been there in the first place. Still, your heart started to race; you didn’t know what to expect, especially because anytime your father wanted to have a meeting, it was never because he wanted to deliver good news.

Usually, Hongjoong called a meeting just to set up an efficient organization for an upcoming war, which you desperately wanted to prevent, but you didn’t have nor the power, nor the authority to oppose his ideas.

«Yeosang has incredibly good news.» Hongjoong spoke with a satisfied grin, as the nine of you were standing in front of him, who was comfortably sitting on his throne.

Compared to the extravagant and precious furnishings of the Castle, the throne room was large, and almost completely bare of furniture; above three steps was Hongjoong’s throne, made of black obsidian, and four tall, wide marble columns stood around the room. Sometimes, you had the sensation that the room almost seemed too humble to be the silent witness of such atrocious plans and confessions. However, within the throne room was the real treasure of the cursed kingdom, a treasure of immeasurable value; two precious stones of mysterious nature – probably otherworldly, were set against the wall above Hongjoong’s throne. Red as rubies, they shone with a mysterious and frightening light, a light which seemed to become increasingly brighter as Hongjoong’s power steadily grew.

«According to my researches, some people managed to summon the Gods, without being summoned by them and of course, without dying.» Yeosang spoke, and you listened to him, fearing for the worst; you were aware about the fact that beside your parents, Seonghwa and Jongho had met their godly parent as well, but, listening to Yeosang’s words, between summoning a God out of your own will and meeting one because they decided to give you a second chance at life, there was a huge and extremely dangerous difference.

Hongjoong’s plan could be easily guessed: summon the Gods one by one, challenge them and defeat them, whatever it took. The possibility of losing not only your parents but the others as well was starting to make you feel like you were suffocating.

«However, there seem to be no traces of the summoning rituals,» Yeosang added, and you felt like breathing again, «so I’m trying to track those people down: some of them must be still alive.»

«Isn’t it dangerous?» you quietly asked, before feeling both Seonghwa’s and San’s elbows nudging against yours, in a rushed silent warning to not speak any further. Hongjoong tilted his head towards you in a polite yet tense smile, and your gaze naturally locked on the floor.

«Princess, my beloved daughter,» he addressed you with a tense voice, «I think you should be happy, for we are one step closer to get our seeked revenge.» he added, and you were completely aware about the fact that you were testing your luck, but you couldn’t follow the silent hint of keeping your mouth shut; after all, children of Fire were known for acting on their instinct, for better or for worse.

«You want to summon a God just to defeat them, but what if you end up being defeated?» “what if I lose you as well?” you mentally added, but your torn emotions reached blind ears; a thin layer of black smoke seemed to generate from the crimson stones behind him, before materializing around Hongjoong’s right hand, and you realized that he interpreted your words as a tentative of opposing his authority.

However, before Hongjoong’s rational part could even realize the fact that darkness had completely clouded his soul and he was about to attack you with his magic, a thick layer of black and moving sand materialized in front of you, momentarily startling you.

«Hongjoong, calm down.» Jongho quietly spoke, his right hand barely lifted in the air to keep his spell alive, and Hongjoong’s unforgiving eyes locked with his friend’s neutral gaze.

«Go.» Seonghwa told you barely above a whisper, and you took the chance to excuse yourself and head out of the throne room.

Accompanied by the darkness of the night, Seonghwa and Wooyoung bursted completely unannounced into your room; the faint lights of the candles in your room immediately underlined the tense frown on their delicate features as Wooyoung carried an empty leather bag along with him, immediately heading towards your closet.

«Come on, Princess, it’s time to pack.» Seonghwa urged, as his friend was carefully placing few change of clothes in the bag he had placed on a nearby chair, doing his best in trying to act calm and composed although everything in his body screamed that he was in a hurry.

«What? What happened?» you asked them, dumbfounded, as you immediately walked behind the fancy separé few steps from your bed, in order to dress as fast as you could.

Neither Seonghwa nor Wooyoung answered your question, and you grew increasingly worried: were you in danger? Did a war break out without notice? Were there some intruders in the castle? You fastened a dagger against your thigh, before walking towards Wooyoung, which was done packing.

«Hongjoong won’t get any better, little one,» Wooyoung explained, running a hand through his black hair out of frustration, «and neither will we.» you couldn’t do anything but look at him with your eyes as wide as the moon, and he gently squeezed your shoulder with an apologetic smile.

«You do realize that he attacked you because of those stones, right?» Wooyoung questioned, and you nodded without hesitation; of course you had noticed that they were the source of his corruption, after all, he hasn’t been the same since he had found the first one when -

«San is waiting for you, he’ll lead you through the forest.» Seonghwa added, interrupting your thoughts; they both hugged you as tightly as they could, gently kissing your hairline before letting you go. Your emotions were a confused whirlwind of feelings, and you couldn’t pinpoint which one was prevailing; what were you going to do? Why were they sending you away? Would you see them again?

Seonghwa walked back into your bedroom few moments after you were gone, just to find Wooyoung sitting on your bed, his hands on his lap and his gaze locked on them as if they were the most interesting sight in the world.

«I think she has all the rights to know the truth.» Seonghwa mumbled, and Wooyoung simply hummed. «She will,» Wooyoung eventually answered, although his voice was uncertain, «we will find a way to tell her, I promise.» Seonghwa sighed, his footstep leading him to sit next to his long-time friend, «Do you think Changbin will help her?» «Technically, he owes us his life,» Wooyoung immediately answered, hinting to what happened many years earlier at the Serendia Shrine, «but we’re his enemies, now, so…» he drifted off, his words dying on the tip of his tongue, before turning his head towards Seonghwa and completely changing the topic, «How’s it going for you?»

Seonghwa answered with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, while lifting his left hand in mid air and generating a small sphere of water, gesture which made Wooyoung immediately sigh in deject; Seonghwa’s eyes – once turning a bright shade of blue anytime he used magic, were now a threatening shade of black, and the water generating in his hand was as dark as the deepest point of the sea. Seonghwa was about to lose himself to darkness, Wooyoung realized, and without you constantly being around them, it would have probably happened for both him and San as well, sooner than they had originally planned.

San has been guiding you through the forest, paying meticulous attention not to leave any kind of trace behind the two of you; he knew that him, Wooyoung and Seonghwa couldn’t hide the fact that you had escaped for long, but he was determined to buy you as more time as he could. Sometimes, he had to admit that the fact he had been working as an assassin for years definitely came in hand: thanks to his lead, the both of you moved as silent shadows, favored by the natural hiding place provided by the trees.

«This is as far as I can go,» San gently spoke as he spotted your horse behind an oak tree – of course, sent there as a farewell present from Jongho, «Go to Heidel, look for Changbin.»

«Why are you sending me away, did I do something wrong?» you asked, tears suddenly forming in your eyes and panic tightly gripping your heart as you realized that you were about to leave for real; San’s eyes softened, and he immediately reached out to wrap his arms around you in a comforting hug.

«Of course you didn’t, you could never.» he honestly answered, and you felt your throat burn with the desire to stop yourself from trying not to cry.

«What do I do now?» you questioned, with a shaky voice, «I’ve always been with you.» you added, gripping on his cape.

«Keeping yourself out of trouble could be an excellent start, Princess.» even though you could hear a smile in San’s voice, you understood he was reluctant to let you go by the firm hold he still had on you. Truth be told, deep in your heart, you already knew the reason why they were doing this, but you didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that you were about to lose to darkness the people you loved the most.

Eventually, you reluctantly detached yourself from San’s comforting embrace, and he helped you fix your small luggage on your horse, before helping you up on the saddle as well.

«Will I see you again?» sniffling quietly, you questioned him almost timidly, looking at him as you were tightly holding the reigns with shaky hands.

San gave you a small smile, before placing his right hand on his heart, and faintly reach out towards you, in a gesture Hongjoong and the others were used to do whether someone among them were to leave for a journey.

“My heart will be with you, wherever you go.” it meant.

«You will,» San gave you a reassuring smile and you nodded briefly, urging your horse to move forward; he narrowed his eyes, and refused to move until he couldn’t see your shape completely engrossed by the darkness of the night, «will you?» he whispered his question in the void of the night, before making his way back towards the Castle.

The sensation of sunlight on your skin was something you haven’t been feeling in years, and the fact that you couldn’t share this experience with the people you loved was extremely dejecting.

Traveling on your own not only was exhausting, but it was definitely not a pleasant experience; first of all, you had no one to talk to – beside your horse but sadly she couldn’t answer to your rambling, and most importantly, you had to constantly force yourself not to fall asleep anytime you stopped for the night. It definitely wasn’t rare for you to tie the reigns of your horse to a tree and then climb on one of its largest branches just to take a quick nap, and anytime you woke up you were a little more stressed than you were before falling asleep. Accordingly to the map that Wooyoung sneaked in your bag when he was packing your luggage – along to a huge quantity of gold, Heidel was still very far away from were you were; the city was at least two weeks of constant travel from the Cursed Kingdom, and you were determined to reach Changbin’s house as soon as you could, but you couldn’t mistreat your horse.

One week had passed, and you wondered if Hongjoong found out that you had ran away, and how he consequentially reacted; chewing on a small ratio of bread, you scoffed at the naivety of your own thoughts. “He probably forgot about me,” you thought instinctively, your fingertips blindly reaching for your earring while gently moving and twisting the silver feather attached to the small loop; “I wonder if there’s a way to destroy those stones.” you sighed, your thoughts running wild as you were enjoying your lunch while sitting next to a small river.

The fact that you were tired led you to naturally commit a huge mistake; being lost in your thoughts with your shoulders facing the woods meant that you definitely didn’t realize someone sneaking up on you, until a short blade was pressed against your throat.

«I wonder what someone from the cursed kingdom is doing around here.» a boy spat with a harsh tone; judging by his voice, he seemed to be around your age, and a thick accent was accentuating any word he spoke.

Carefully balancing what was remaining of your small loaf of bread between your teeth, you immediately reached out to wrap your hand around the stranger’s bare forearm: your eyes became bright red as you used your powers, burning his skin so that he was forced to either move away or give up his hold on the dagger. However, the stranger proven out to be a little more reckless than you originally planned, because he did let you go, but with a quick movement of his other hand, he had vigorously pushed against your shoulder, consequentially making your back unceremoniously hit the soft grass.

«Were you raised by barbarians?!» you instinctively spat, annoyed with the fact that in the process, the loaf of bread you were eating was now on the floor, «I was eating, you idiot.»

Slightly surprised with the fact that you seemed to be more angry with him interrupting your lunch rather than him threatening to kill you, the stranger momentarily loosened his grip on you, and you took advantage of that faint second in order to quickly counterattack. Long years spent being trained by Hongjoong and the others meant that you were a skilled fighter, even thought no one of them had ever let you go to war. With a quick movement, you managed to roll the two over, so that now you were sitting on his abdomen and tightly holding his wrist, preventing him from using his dagger again.

Something in the stranger’s appearance, however, made you momentarily froze in your place. There was nothing particularly outstanding in his clothes, beside the fact that he seemed to wear a cloak made of fur – which was neatly attached to the fabric on his left shoulder; the boy was undoubtedly handsome, his hair was short and black, and his features were as nice as if they had been sculpted in marble.

However, as if a spell had been casted on you, you couldn’t drift your gaze from his: not only he had huge scar on his left eye – reaching from mid forehead to the middle of his cheek, but his eyes were mismatched. Instinctively, you swallowed nervously: not only his eyes were the obvious proof that the boy had died and been sent back by his godly parent, but, judging by the bright blue color of his left eye, he was a child of Water.

«I can’t believe my fucking luck.» you muttered to yourself, before tightening your grip on the stranger’s wrists before abruptly letting them go; as quickly as you could, you dashed towards your horse, hastily climbing on the saddle.

As for the stranger, you had used once again an old trick that Hongjoong had taught you when you were still young: a thick rope made of fire burned bright around his wrists, and as soon as you saw him effortlessly neutralize your spell summoning water, you realized you had to flee. Fighting with a son of Water meant that you were in obvious disadvantage, especially if fighting near a source of water, but it didn’t mean you could outsmart him, after all, you took alchemy lessons from Yeosang, whose talent was well known and envied in the most important cities; before leaving, you casted a spell on the helm of his dagger, before throwing it towards him, making it purposely land between the two of you.

As you noticed that his blue eye seemed to shine brighter, you realized that he was silently summoning a spell, and therefore you took advantage of the now enchanted dagger; you threw a small sphere made of fire towards it, and as the ground began to burn, you realized that the steel had completely melted. From there, you could control the direction of the fire as you pleased, and a line of flames was burning in front of the stranger, separating the two of you and allowing you to escape.

It was a windy evening when you arrived in Heidel, and although someone glanced at you in a suspicious manner, no one actually had tried to stop you to know your whereabouts; you were walking through the city while gently tugging on the reigns, as your horse followed obediently behind you. Changbin’s and Lea’s house was in the west side of the city, and since you’ve spent a lot of time with them when you were younger, you recognized it immediately; the more steps you took towards it, the more anxious you felt. What if they didn’t want to see you? “There’s only a way to find out.” you took a big breath, before knocking once, twice, three times on the wooden front door.

«I don’t know, I wasn’t expecting anymore people!» you heard Changbin’s muffled voice getting closer, before the door opened just to reveal a very confused Changbin; as if he was struck by lightning, a smile erupted on his lips as recognition danced on his features and mumbled your name, and you nodded with a shy smile. Changbin invited you in, but before closing the front door behind the two of you, he carefully glanced around the streets, just to be sure that no one had followed you.

«Lix, could you get her horse to my stable?» Changbin gently asked to a boy which had walked out of the kitchen as the two of you were approaching, but you didn’t pay much attention to him, since you were too focused on trying to recognize the voice coming from the room Changbin was leading you to.

«I swear, Lea,» the male voice spoke with a thick accent, «she fled, just like that!» you instinctively furrowed your eyebrows, because the voice definitely sounded familiar, and you hoped for your instinct to be proven wrong. As you stepped into Changbin’s cozy kitchen, Lea immediately let go of the fabric rag she was using to clean the wooden counter of the kitchen, just to come and greet you with a warm hug, but your eyes widened as soon as your gaze met the boy comfortably sitting on a wooden chair, with his arm placed on the table. «Hello, fireball,» the boy spoke with a smug smile, the light of the fireplace dancing in his bright blue eye, «what a coincidence, I was talking about you, just now.»

«I can’t believe my fucking luck.» you muttered to yourself, letting go of the leather handles of your bag, letting it falling on the floor, as you returned Lea’s warm embrace.

CHAPTER II

«I have never done such things!» you hastily denied, covering your mouth with the back of your hand, ignoring every single rule of etiquette which imposed you not to speak with your mouth full of food; your gaze briefly met Chris’ – the child of Water you had recently met, and it didn’t take a particular wild guess to acknowledge the fact he was listening to everything Lea was saying just to have many more things to tease you with. Lea, however, was looking at you with a beaming and fond smile, recognizing the fact that you did remember, and proceeded with talking about every interesting anecdotes about your childhood she could remember.

«One time, Changbin let her hit him with one of the fake swords they used, and actually pretended to be hurt and well, she started crying! Ah, she was so cute back then.» «Am I not anymore?» you immediately questioned arching your bow, and Lea immediately shook her head. «Of course you are, you look exactly like your mother – speaking of which, have you already been to Velia?» Although Lea’s question was harmless, for some reason, it was enough for the appetite you had felt to completely vanish; you shook your head, simply answering that you were going to, within the following days.

«Velia? The port city?» Chris curiously questioned, and you wordlessly nodded; acknowledging your silence, Changbin briefly explained that Velia is where you used to live as a child, before eventually, your mother died and Hongjoong and the others left, taking you with them.

«Well, I didn’t know this part of the story.» Chris mumbled to himself, and the boy sitting next to him – Felix, sighed heavily. «There would be an infinite things you’d know if you weren’t so quick on jumping to conclusion.» Felix spoke, and Chris simply shrugged, agreeing with him.

From what you learnt in the two weeks you had spent at Changbin’s and Lea’s house, both Chris and Felix came from Ilya Island, which was few days away from Velia. Apparently, they had come both to visit Changbin – an old time friend, and both to assure the Capital that the Island would have helped in case the Cursed Kingdom decided to declare war. Moreover, if you weren’t surprised about Felix being the Prince of Ilya Island – not only everything in his behaviour seemed to scream “royalty” but also the golden and thin tiara he always wore actually resembled some sort of crown, you were definitely surprised to learn that Chris was not only the head of their Kingdom’s whole army, but also Felix’s most trusted counsellor. How did a boy so annoying and reckless manage to get such an important title, was a mystery to you.

«Oi, fireball, I was meaning to ask-» «Don’t call me that,» you immediately cut Chris’ sentence, definitely not liking how his full and plump lips framed a perfect smile. «Okay, sweetheart,» he corrected himself, pronouncing the new nickname almost in a rivalry tone, «how did you control two elements at once?»

It took you few seconds to remember what he was actually talking about, but in the moment you did, your face seemed to brighten up with pride; you placed the small chalice you were drinking from back on the table, before lifting your right hand in mid-air, slightly moving it around.

«I actually can’t, I am a child of Fire,» you clarified, «Yeosang came up with this. There are few alchemy symbols embroided inside it, which allow us to use alchemy however and whenever we want, without the processing part.» you explained, as the others’ gaze was fixed on the fingerless glove hugging your hand as if it was a second skin. Although the fabric looked like leather, the consistency was far from it; unlike leather, the fabric was more elastic, flexible and waterproof, and – most importantly, it did not hinder any movement of your hand. «What symbols?» Felix asked with fake nonchalance, and you instinctively scoffed. “As if I would tell you,” you thought. «As if I knew,» you answered instead, «Yeosang came up with them.» «He created them?» Chris questioned; everyone was aware about Yeosang’s brilliance when it came to alchemy, but said stories always came from people which had been defeated by one of his inventions, reason why hearing what he was capable of from one of his friends and not one of his foes was actually even more fascinating. «He also managed to hid them, so that if we ever get defeated, no one would find out.» you added, lying about not knowing which symbols he had used.

Ever since Yeosang had successfully refined the new weapon, he had insisted for you and the others to carefully learn which symbols he had meticulously created. «So you won’t come running to me if you need a new one.» Yeosang had simply explained back then, although he was pretty clear that the fingerless gloves he had created were a very precious gift meant only for the nine of you.

«That doesn’t surprise me.» Changbin chimed in, before he eventually start rambling random praises about how Yeosang, Yunho and Mingi managed to help him building his house basically almost using alchemy alone, and it was a shame that they ended up becoming a public enemy. However, that was where you stopped listening.

Although you had spent two weeks showered with actual affection and not feeling like an outcast that had run away from the Cursed Kingdom, you started to miss home; what started as an almost imperceptible sensation, like a gentle movement of a butterfly’s wings, suddenly evolved into a pang in your heart. Were you allowed to spend your days like this? After all, you had witnessed first-hand the people you loved losing themselves to darkness; how long that vain and fragile lie would last, you wondered, realizing that you have been hiding yourself behind a small lie shaped into a thin curtain separating you from what you knew you were supposed to do? When the moon was shining high and lonely in the sky, you had the sensation of your thoughts gradually being cleared; you wanted – you needed, to find a way to help Hongjoong and the others, but how?

For sure, you couldn’t ask Changbin’s help and risking to put him in such an unquantifiable danger; it was as if it was you, and the whole world standing mysteriously against you – who was, moreover, running out of time.

The following morning, you barely finished breakfast before announcing you were going to visit your mother’s tombstone.

«Don’t talk to strangers,» Lea spoke, closing your cape a little tighter around your frame «your clothes still stand out so much…» she faintly mumbled, and you smiled sadly at her; even though you knew that keeping the clothes you and Wooyoung bought in the Cursed Kingdom were still too characteristic and unique, you didn’t want to give up on your identity, yet. «I will be home before dinner.» you answered, before climbing on your horse and urging her to move on the path to Velia, which luckily, wasn’t too far from Heidel; as you shielded your eyes from the rising sun, you smiled to yourself, remembering Chris’ utterly offended expression seeing you waving goodbye to everyone except him.

Unbeknownst to you, Felix and Chris were the only one who remained on the porch, watching as your retreating figure seemed to vanish into the sun; Lea and Changbin had quickly went back to their busy daily routine.

«Please, don’t,» Felix sighed, almost as if he could hear the train of thoughts of his long-time friend, «we’re supposed to go to the Capital and sign some boring alliance documents today.» Chris nodded wordlessly, but Felix realized he was definitely not listening to a word he had said. «Let’s keep an eye on her first.» Chris spoke few seconds later, before storming back inside the house and lively calling for Lea, asking if she had some tasks for them at Velia. «Take a deep breath, Lix,» the Prince said to himself, «and try not to whoop his ass with some nettle branches.»

Everything seemed so incredibly wrong and disconnected at the Harpies’ Ridge, Karanda noticed. Although the harpies had been restlessly working in order to rebuild everything Hongjoong had destroyed years earlier, it was as if her Kingdom was just not the same. Harpies were now almost reluctant and afraid to be reborn into a human form, since they didn’t want to risk being corrupted and absorbed into the Cursed Kingdom, joining Hongjoong’s army just like any other pawn. This had been the main reason why, during the last ten years, only two children of Air were born into the human world, harpies that had willingly reincarnated themselves in the vain hope to be helpful to Karanda in some sort of way. Even so, Karanda still decided to delete their memories from their past life, wanting them to enjoy the brevity and fleeting emotions of their human existence.

Karanda suddenly shrieked, and the sky seemed to tremble adjusting to her restless soul; few seconds later, answering to her call, a harpy graciously landed in front of her throne, immediately kneeling in a sign of utter respect towards her Queen.

«We have been fighting together for a long time, my friend,» she spoke, as a gracious smile erupted on her otherworldly features, «however, I’m afraid I have to ask you for a favour that only you can do.» furrowing her delicate brows, the harpy dared to look at her Queen, asking her to explain herself.

«As you know, everything that happens within the Cursed Kingdom’s territories is beyond my sight; however, I can see Hongjoong’s daughter now, meaning that she isn’t roaming the cursed lands, anymore. My foresight is not absolute, but I can see that she will soon start walking towards her fate, and I need you to keep an eye on her.» «You want me to… spy on her?» the harpy questioned with a doubtful shriek, and Karanda briefly nodded. «I want you to earn her trust, find any sort of useful information you can find, and protect her – as much as you can.» Karanda added; as the harpy was about to question her what was supposed to be difficult in this task, the Goddess spoke again, letting the question dying in her throat, «I want you to descend into the human world as a boy.»

Karanda saw the harpy’s shoulders fell, before she eventually sat on the ground in deject; «Why can’t I do it while being a girl? Don’t we hate men? Am I supposed to hate myself all the time, Karanda?» the harpy rambled with the intimacy that only a friend could muster.

Karanda patiently listened to her, smiling at some of her weird questions, and the harpy momentarily smiled; although she had been serving Karanda since centuries – purposely choosing to never reincarnate into her human form, she had never seen the Queen look so tense over something related to the human world, that’s why even a small smile made her feel slightly better.

«Do I have to pee like a boy as well?» she whispered yet another question, her eyes as wide as the moon as her clawed fingers hovered above her lips, and Karanda nodded. «You will only keep your memories.» the Queen spoke, avoiding her question. «I will only keep my memories…» the harpy echoed, before falling silent for few minutes; «Fine, but I’ll better be handsome.»

Karanda thanked her, before she effortlessly tore a feather from her forearm, blowing a small whiff of air into the palm of her hand; the feather seemed to dance in the wind as it surpassed the Queen’s clawed fingers, and as soon as it touched the harpy’s forehead, a white and almost blinding light enveloped her completely. It lasted as a quick blink of an eye, and standing in front of Karanda, now was a young boy with perfect features. He was tall, he had long and slim legs and his arms looked strong; his hair was as black as coal and it reached his shoulders, and his eyes were both as black as a starless night.

«Hyunjin,» Karanda spoke, «this will be your name for your human life.» «Am I handsome?» Hyunjin spoke immediately, instinctively touching his face, pleased to feel that his nose seemed to be just the perfect size. «You are.» Karanda answered, amused. «Better than Garmoth?» Hyunjin suddenly teased, enjoying how the Queen suddenly seemed to be taken back by the sudden question, «Ah, I guess not.» Hyunjin added with a pout, not giving Karanda enough time to answer him, for he said goodbye and started walking away. After all, he was a man on a mission, now; he had to find Hongjoong’s daughter and do who knows what, right?

«Hyunjin, one more thing,» Karanda spoke, and the boy stopped, tilting his head to the side, signalling he was listening, «don’t meddle yourself with human affairs too much, for you are not one of them.» with a court nod, Hyunjin started walking again, waving goodbye without turning back.

In complete truth, you suspected you would have never made it home before dinner, since the Sun signalled it was way past mid-day and you still had to made it to Velia; as much as you hated to break a promise, you had to admit that you wouldn’t have been late if only you weren’t being followed. What was only a brief suspicion probably dictated by paranoia had met a sad confirmation few hours after you decided to carefully hide your horse – taking your weapons with you and leave the small bag attached to her side empty, before climbing on a nearby oak tree. Safely hidden by its branches, you safened the two daggers you used to fight to the harnesses on your thighs, and waited.

Now, you knew you probably looked dumb for spending hours crouched on a branch, but San had always taught you to follow your survival instinct, and you had always believed that there was a reason if that was the first thing he – a former assassin, had decided to teach you. However, the more time passed, the more you deduced you really were a fool, and no one was following you; you were about to climb down from your hiding place, when a voice made you freeze in your place.

«Have you ever thought about it? The King’s daughter is basically all alone, now.» immediately, you glanced below the branch you were standing on, faintly noticing two people stopping right underneath it. «Poor thing, I guess she must be scared now.» the other man retorted, and a relieved smile erupted on your lips, since you could recognize those uniforms anywhere and everywhere; but what were soldiers from the Cursed Kingdom doing in the outskirt of a small port town?

Completely aware about the fact that no one was allowed to roam outside of the Kingdom’s territories without Hongjoong’s order, you decided not to trust the initial instinct, which had suggested you to ask them for any kind of help. For all you knew, they could be the ones following you. Not really wanting them to see you since they had stopped under the tree in order to shield themselves from the Sun, you climbed a little higher, carefully analysing the situation: there were only two of them, and from what you could see, they didn’t seem to be heavily armed. If you were lucky enough, you could use surprise effect to kill one of them, and then directly fight the other.

Tightly gripping the helm of your dagger in your left hand, you adjusted your position on the branch, ready to jump and land on one of the soldier’s shoulders, when you felt yourself being snatched back; as a hand on your mouth prevented you from screaming, your shoulders landed against someone’s firm chest, and soft fur gently tickled your left cheek.

«It’s okay, it’s me and Lix.» Chris’ voice mumbled against your ear, and you nodded, silently implying that you weren’t going to scream, and that he could let go; however, he only moved the hand from your mouth in order to place it on your waist.

As you were about to move it away, Chris quickly manoeuvred the two of you so that he was crouching down with his back against the oak tree, and you were safely nestled in his hold. “Safely”, you thought, “what in the world am I even thinking?” As you quickly fastened your dagger against your thigh once again, you noticed a large amount of branches suddenly silently grow out of nowhere, further hiding your presence whether the soldiers decided to look up; instinctively, you glanced at Felix, which simply gave you a small and gentle smile. Felix stood on the branch right next to yours, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his left shoulder leaning against the tree; for the whole time the branches were growing, his eyes had turned a bright shade of green, meaning that he was a child of Earth. For some reason, it didn’t surprise you.

«We found her horse! She must not be far from here!» someone said, and suddenly, your attention was once again completely focused on the soldiers beneath you; judging by the voices, there were at least five more of them. Chris and Felix shared a brief and worried glance behind your shoulders, but your attention didn’t waver from what was happening right below you. «There’s an excellent bounty on her head, now that Hongjoong has banished the Princess.» you heard one of them add, and instinctively you started to tremble.

Not only Hongjoong had made it clear that he had forgotten about you, he also made it clear that he didn’t want you back – at least not alive; you were considered just as any other traitor. Instinctively, you covered your mouth with the back of your hand, praying to yourself not to start to cry now, since it would have been highly unfortunate; feeling your distress, Chris’ arms held your waist a little gentler, placing his chin on your left shoulder.

«We’ll make it home.» he whispered, and you had to take a deep breath in order not to let out a broken sob.

“Home”, Chris said; too bad, you didn’t have one, not anymore.

«Need a ride?» Chris questioned you, comfortably sitting on the saddle of his horse, Felix silently riding next to him. Even though the soldiers had left few minutes later unknowingly announcing you that you were banished, the three of you had waited few more hours before eventually, climbing down the oak tree and walking to where Felix had carefully hid his and Chris’ horses with a simple spell. Dinner time was long gone, for the moon was now shining in the sky, and you wondered how Changbin and Lea must have been worrying for the three of you. «No, I’m fine.» you answered, walking as fast as you could just to keep up with the horse’s slow pace.

Although you heard Chris scoffing as a silent answer, you didn’t expect him to act up; it only took few seconds to him to lean down, quickly placing his hands under your armpits and hoist you up on the saddle of his horse, making you sitting sideways in front of him. «Really, Chris?» you questioned, immediately trying to climb back down but noticing that his arms didn’t waver the slightest. «We’ll be home sooner like this.» Felix chimed in, and you silently wondered why you didn’t find his accent annoying – which was your main though anytime Chris was opening his mouth. «Why couldn’t I ride with you?» you questioned him, and Felix shrugged, simply answering that Chris and his horse were closer to you than he was.

Of course, Changbin and Lea were worried; they were waiting right outside the front door, hoping that nothing had happened; they immediately guided the three of you to the kitchen, giving you at least something to eat, despite it was already late at night. Changbin studied your features with alarmed eyes as soon as you referred them that you were banished from your Kingdom, and the more you spoke, the more you realized that staying there meant putting everyone else in danger.

«We received this, this afternoon,» Changbin spoke once you had finished speaking; he placed a paper envelope on the table, and you immediately glanced at the familiar sealing wax stamp, «it was both cute and creepy, you know? A crow bursted into my office through the window, leaving the envelope on my desk, and flying away without sparing me a glance.» he added, and you immediately reached out, effortlessly breaking the wax and opening the letter.

“The Gobbling’s Tavern, Wednesday, at midnight. Ask for an umbrella. W.”

Although you would have been able to recognize that handwriting among a thousand, it was the request you should have made that remove all the trace of doubts; Wooyoung had the habit of combining his and San’s name together, saying that the result meant “umbrella”. Therefore, you were certain about the fact that he sent you the letter but, why did he suddenly want to see you?

«It’s tomorrow.» you spoke, deadpanned. «I hope you’re not thinking of going, young lady.» Lea spoke sternly, crossing her arms in front of her chest; even though you explained her that the letter was sent from Wooyoung, her opinion didn’t waver, but neither did yours.

Apparently, Changbin had managed to persuade his wife with the promise that he would have gone with you and of course, Chris and Felix weren’t going to stay home and wait. «Are you sure this is the best thing to do?» Lea questioned Changbin the following afternoon, and he gently kissed her forehead, before climbing on his horse. «We’re four children of Nature, Lea. I’m sure we’ll manage.» he had said, before heading towards Velia followed by you, Chris and Felix; since Changbin didn’t have another horse, you were riding behind Felix, carefully gripping on his slim waist and trying not to fall.

Just as planned, you arrived to Velia just in time; however, as soon as you saw the low cobbled city’s walls, you tensed up. «Relax,» Felix gently spoke, noticing how the grip around his waist had slightly tightened, «if things get bad, we’ll sacrifice Chris and run away.» you sighed a breathless laugh, appreciating how the boy was trying to console you although no one knew what exactly was waiting for you. «What? C’mon mate, why me?» Chris questioned, looking utterly offended. «I wonder what’s gonna happen if you die twice,» Felix murmured, ignoring his friend’s question, «you’d probably get some common sense from Vell.» he added, referring to the God of Water. «I’m gonna kick you down your horse, Lix.» Chris’ threatened; however, his voice was filled with fondness towards the other boy. It was something you had easily noticed during the time you spent together: Chris and Felix teased each other on a daily basis, but if you were to question the nature of their bond, they’d simply answer that they were like siblings. «If you kick her down as well, you will be meeting Vell sooner than expected.» Changbin added, and for few seconds, the anxiety you were feeling seemed to alleviate just a little.

Next to the port and with an excellent view of the open sea, the Gobbler’s Tavern definitely had a bad reputation; frequented by all kinds of sailors, mercenaries and prostitutes, you spent your short journey wondering why Wooyoung had chosen that place. The first thing you noticed was the predominantly dark environment, some lanterns hanging on the wall dimly lit people’s faces, making them partially unrecognizable thanks to that play of lights. The second thing you noticed was a boy; as he sat on the counter, his features were clearly recognizable, a stark difference from the rest of those in the room. He held a small lyre balanced on one thigh, and as he played it, his voice sang a sweet melody in an unknown language.

Chris’ elbow roughly nudged against yours, and that was your clue to know that probably, you were staring a bit too much; your gaze briefly met his, and he nodded towards a waiter, who was cleaning one of the tables near the counter. “What if it’s a trap?” you suddenly thought as your heart was hammering in your chest in an uneven pace; however, you slowly approached him, knowing that the others were right behind you, even if you didn’t turn around to verify it. «I… I need an umbrella.» you quietly spoke as soon as the man straightened up and asked whether he could help you. Although you felt ridiculous to actually voice that bizarre request, the waiter’s expression immediately changed; he studied your features, as if he was trying to compare you to some description, before his eyes quickly darted behind your shoulders. «Are those men with you?» was his only question; in the moment you nodded, he made a small motion with his head, silently signalling you to follow him. He quickly led you through the back doors, towards one of the room that could eventually be rented for the night; the man stopped in front of a wooden door, knocking once, waiting few seconds and then knocking three times a little quicker. In the moment you heard the door being unlocked, the waiter nodded a silent goodbye at your group, and silently made his way towards the front of the Tavern.

If you had to be honest, what you expected to see inside the room were both Wooyoung and San waiting for you, and probably give you few advices on what to do next. What you did not expect to see was Wooyoung leaning against the wall with a restless expression, his gaze lost in the fireplace burning in front of him. «Wooyoung?» you asked, somehow afraid to interrupt his thoughts; however, as soon as Wooyoung’s eyes met yours, a gentle smile bloomed on his features, and you quickly step forward towards him – ignoring Changbin’s advice to pay attention, in order to throw yourself into Wooyoung’s arms. Wooyoung held you close, as if to verify that you were still alive, that nothing had happened to you, and you hugged him just as tight. «I’m really happy you came.» Wooyoung told you, thanking Changbin for taking care of you and greeting both Chris and Felix.

It took at least half an hour for Changbin, Felix and Chris to partially let their guard down enough to take a seat in the small and cosy room, and it was all thanks to how Wooyoung was behaving towards you.

Although everyone had heard the most various tales about the Seven Generals from the Underworld, in that moment, Wooyoung did not fit any of those descriptions. Instead of a ruthless and cruel man which never hesitated to take a life under his King’s command, stood a boy which was gently smiling at you, analysing your features and questioning how could you have scratched your cheek like that, before questioning Changbin “how can she already be hurt when she has been away for barely three weeks”; the child of Water, eventually, realized that the Wooyoung standing in front of him was just the same he had met years ago and therefore, he decided to trust him. As for Chris and Felix, they were both incredibly wary and both incredibly curious about Wooyoung’s presence; although people from Ilya Island had fought many wars, no one of them had ever engaged a single battle with the Cursed Kingdom and therefore, once again, the opportunity to know the enemy is not something they were willing to pass up.

Over the years, you learned to recognize the most various changes in your uncles behaviour, and you realized that Wooyoung was definitely not doing fine; there were dark circles around his eyes, and – despite his beauty remained untouched, he definitely seemed to have lost weight. It didn’t take a particular wild guess for you to understand that something must have happened to San, and you decided to stop ignoring the elephant in the room; as much as you were enjoying your unexpected rendez-vous, you knew that there was a reason for that meeting.

«How is San?» you quietly asked, and Wooyoung’s smile disappeared in less than a second; he tightly closed his eyes, before taking a deep breath. «He… forgot,» Wooyoung spoke, and your shoulders slouched in deject, «there’s only me left, now.» he added, and you reached out, tightly holding his hand in your trembling ones. The fact that San and Wooyoung had been in love every single day was well engraved in your memories, and you couldn’t bring yourself to even imagine how Wooyoung could feel, to look at your own husband and knowing that he didn’t remember who you are. Of course, you had felt somehow the same thing since Hongjoong started to forget about you, but as similar as the situation seemed, it couldn’t be any more different. «Why did you want to meet her?» Changbin questioned, «Don’t you know that Hongjoong had banished her? There’s a bounty on her head, Wooyoung.» «Hongjoong can no longer recognize a friend from a foe,» Wooyoung immediately retorted, meeting Changbin’s sharp glare with an equal strong gaze, «not even his own kin.» he added, and as he glanced at you, his tone momentarily softened.

Unbeknownst to your small group, another secret yet important meeting was taking place within the tavern’s bedrooms.

A woman with otherworldly features slowly made her way through the corridors, and even though there were no windows and the doors were tightly closed, her clothes seemed to move thanks to a gentle breeze; her hair was as white as snow, neatly braided into a complicated hairstyle, while her skin was as white as porcelain. Her steps carried her towards a room not much distant than the one you and Wooyoung were in, and her left securely hovered above the handle before stepping inside.

«We’re the rulers of the sky,» she said, closing the wooden door behind her shoulders with another flick of her hand, her voice greeting a man which was patiently waiting for her, «and yet, you ask me to meet you in a tavern?»

The man chuckled, slightly turning around, «You can’t say you didn’t miss it, Karanda.»

«For sure, I did not, Garmoth.» she immediately retorted; her dislike towards human was well known to the dragon, which on the other hand, seemed to be fascinated by them since humans started to roam around the world.

Garmoth simply chuckled at her words, and Karanda sighed briefly, noticing that once again, nothing had changed on his distant lover’s features; he was tall, and his honey coloured skin empathized the bright red colour of his eyes. His hair was slightly longer, she noticed, untameable dark red strands of hair now reached past his collarbones, and for a moment, she wondered if he liked to braid his hair as he used to, long time ago.

«We’re here because your son couldn’t keep calm.» she spoke, walking towards the balcony and standing next to him, keeping a reasonable distance. «We’re here because your daughter couldn’t stay alive; moreover, you could simply have told Hongjoong the truth.» Garmoth shrugged, and Karanda immediately scoffed, annoyed.

«It’s impossible to be reasonable with a son of Fire.» she immediately spat, hiding her feelings behind a wall of resentment.

«You never had any problems before.» Garmoth turned around, his back pressed against the railing; he tilted his head towards Karanda, but as expected, she dodged the topic, instead voicing her doubt about the God of Corruption being woken up.

«We sealed him away long time ago,» Garmoth shook his head, «but I do believe Hongjoong had found some crumbles of Kzarka’s aura.»

Even though the words Wooyoung were speaking were being pronounced nowhere near the balcony, the words you shared were carried by a gentle breeze towards the room Karanda and Garmoth were patiently staying in, so that they could hear everything as if they were right beside you.

Wooyoung had never stopped talking since he had admitted he wanted to meet you because he owed you an explanation; according to his words, him, San and Seonghwa were firmly convinced that there was something you needed to know, something which maybe, would have made you hate your father a little less.

«I don’t hate him – » you tried to say, but Wooyoung simply shook his head, ignoring you. Apparently, Hongjoong was aware that there was something wrong with your mother’s illness, and it all started since some people from your hometown had found a strange glowing stone, and decided to entrust it to your parents – having both of them met a God once.

«Hongjoong knew he was slowly changing, he often told us how that stone seemed to cloud his senses,» Wooyoung spoke, his gaze meeting both yours and your friends’, «he… was afraid to hurt people, and to hurt you. We all freely decided to follow him, although he kept saying that we needed to go back and take care of you – I know you probably won’t like me saying this, but Hongjoong to us has always been a brother, and a reliable leader. Our love for him had influenced every single one of our choices, including the one to be corrupted in your place.»

«What do you mean?» you mumbled with a trembling voice, even though you weren’t sure your voice could actually be audible to anyone in the room in the first place; you felt like you have been suddenly showered with frozen water in the middle of a snowstorm.

«I mean,» Wooyoung took a breath, caressing your fingers in a vain attempt to console you, «that it wasn’t supposed to end like this; we were supposed to leave Velia, and to find a solution together, but – Hongjoong found another stone in the Castle’s ruins, and… you know the rest.»

Of course, you knew; the moment Hongjoong found the second stone was the day his once bright red eye had turned as black as a starless night.

«What I’m trying to say, is that Hongjoong tried to protect you, in a very messy way, but me and the others promised to tell you, sooner or later.» Wooyoung chuckled without humour, before adding that originally, San was supposed to come with him that night.

«What can we do to help?» Chris spoke, interrupting what seemed a fraction of eternity made of tense silence, and you suddenly remembered that you weren’t alone with Wooyoung, but your friends had decided to come with you as well.

To be honest, you were incredibly curious about his sudden change of heart, since you knew that the only task Chris and Felix had, was to confirm to the Capital that in case of war, they would have fought against Hongjoong without hesitation; you thought that Chris’ question was actually something he didn’t mean, but Felix’s expression confirmed that he wasn’t going to deny his friend’s proposal.

«Yeosang found out that someone managed to summon Garmoth,» Wooyoung explained, «I want you to summon him before Hongjoong does, and do whatever he says.»

«That’s unreasonable!» you spoke a little louder than you meant to, with a trembling voice, «You know what Hongjoong’s goal is; what if he tells me to kill all of you?»

«Then you will do as he says.» Wooyoung gently answered, brushing a strand of hair behind your left ear, shortly caressing the feather earring you always wore.

«I can’t – I don’t – »

«Sunshine,» Wooyoung interrupted your sentence, and you realized that few tears had gathered on the corner of his eyes as well, «we haven’t been alive for a while.»

«She will try to find you,» Karanda commented, «will you help her?» even though her eyes already saw part of their encounter thanks to her innate gift of foresight, she still questioned him.

«Hongjoong’s plans affect the four of us; Vell and Offin had made it clear that they don’t want to meddle with the human world…» even though Garmoth’s resentment towards the other two divinities was probably as deep as the ocean itself, he couldn’t ignore what was happening.

Even though he lost the count of how many years had passed since the Battle of the Dawn of Times – where Kzarka had been sealed away, he couldn’t deny that the possibility of Hongjoong’s power being fuelled by the God of Corruption’s latent aura was something too dangerous to ignore. «I will help her.» Garmoth finally confirmed.

«So,» Karanda sighed, «we’re the only ones remaining.» «We are the only ones remaining.» he echoed her words.

Eventually, few hours after your meeting with Wooyoung had finished, Karanda let Garmoth undress her, and for a night they pretended they were back in the days - millenniums ago, where the most different kind of gods and goddesses crowded the world and they could freely enjoy the beaming joy and tumultuous passions of their love; for a night, they pretended they weren’t two of the last divinities carefully keeping the world into balance.

Whether that night the wind seemed to blow a little gentler, whether that morning the sun seemed to burn even brighter as it rose in the sky, that was for the two of them to know. When the morning came, they kissed each other goodbye; Karanda vanished in a whiff of wind, and Garmoth gently blowed on the remaining traces of a lonely candle, vanishing in the same moment the candle’s flame had died.

Contrary to your expectations, your mother’s tombstone was well cared for, and there were fresh flowers at its feet; although you wondered whether Lea and Changbin were the only ones taking care of it or someone from the village was silently helping them as well, you didn’t bring yourself to voice your question. As the sun was slowly rising in the sky and the village was awakening, you sat in the small cemetery with your gaze unfocused, trying to process everything that Wooyoung had told you few hours earlier as silent tears were streaming on your face.

«Please, mom, what do I have to do?» you murmured, your question engulfed by a sudden gentle breeze, «If you were in my place, you would have known.» you hugged your knees to your chest, pressing your forehead against them, and allowed yourself to cry.

Absorbed in your thoughts, you hadn’t noticed the sound of grinding gravel under someone’s approaching footsteps, before you felt something being gently draped around your shoulders.

«It gets cold in the morning.» Chris spoke, unsure about how to approach you; judging by the proximity of his voice, he was crouching next to you.

«Children of Fire don’t get cold.» you croaked, slightly lifting your head, «but thanks.» you faintly added, aware that him – along with Changbin and Felix had been patiently waiting for you at the cemetery’s gates.

«Let’s go back, shall we?» although Chris’ question was gentle, you understood the sense of urgency he was somehow trying to hide. You nodded at him, realizing that since there was a bounty on your head, you couldn’t spend your time having a breakdown out in the open for everyone to see; after all, you didn’t even notice Chris approaching you, and that made you an extremely easy target. Chris stood up, offering you his hand, and you took it, sealing a secret and still unknown deal that would have intertwined your destinies for good.

Unbeknownst to you, Hyunjin comfortably sat on a branch of one of the cedar trees near the cemetery; his position was relaxed, his right leg was bent on the wood while the left one was dangling from it, as he studied you and your companions, with an unreadable expression.

«Looks like we’re gonna meet sooner than I expected.» he murmured to himself, as you and Chris were quickly walking towards the others.

CHAPTER III

After securing on your shoulders the backpack Wooyoung and Seonghwa gifted you and taking deep breath, you opened the window and swoon your leg over the railing of the small balcony attached to your room. Escaping from the first floor definitely was not a difficult task, but sneaking out in the middle of the night was all about being as silent as the snow falling on the ground.

“Careful, now, I’m almost done…” you calmly encouraged yourself as you successfully landed on the soft grass; after all, by now, you were quite the expert of running away in the middle of the night.

Although you didn’t have a precise destination in mind, you still felt as if leaving Changbin and the others behind was the best solution you could have came up with. After the meeting with Wooyoung, you felt like you had completely changed; not only you barely walked out of your room – consequentially making Changbin, Lea and your new friends incredibly worry about you, but you started to drastically overthink things as well, which definitely was a habit you never had. Even if you were glad about the fact that no one tried to forcefully snap you out of your self isolation, let’s just say that if only you could have seen a glimpse of the future, you would have appreciated a little bit more Chris’ insistence on trying to make a conversation every time he brought you something to eat.

Sighing in deject because – for obvious reasons, you couldn’t borrow one of the horses from the stable, you let your feet and your instinct hastily walk you towards an indefinite destination as you tightly gripped on your backpack, knowing that as soon as morning came, your friends would have started looking for you.

The sun started to rise in the sky once you were walking through Heidel’s unfamiliar outskirts. It was not excessively difficult to orient yourself – after all, it was a simple beaten road lined with maple trees; but when you realized that the sun was about to be high in the sky and you didn’t have quick and secure places to hide yourself in case of need, you realized that probably, you should have planned your escape a little better.

«I can’t believe our luck.» an unfamiliar voice made you abruptly stop, making your head snap to your left; when you noticed a small group of men definitely coming from the Cursed Kingdom, you realized that definitely, you should have planned your escape a little better.

Even if you were clearly outnumbered you immediately excluded the option of running away, since there was no way you could outrun five horses; the only option you had was to fight against them, and so, you took a deep breath and tightly gripped on the daggers you had secured on your thighs.

“We’re from the same Kingdom,but I highly doubt Hongjoong and the others personally taught them how to fight”, you encouraged yourself once again, feeling a little more secure about your fighting skills.

«Come on Princess, the bounty is higher if we return with a corpse.» one of them spat, making the others laugh and instinctively making your skin crawl; taking advance of the surprise effect, you launched forward, successively stabbing the man closer to you in his abdomen.

However, when the men realized that you were definitely not willing to go back home without fighting for your life, they immediately started to counter attack, and for the first time since you left the Cursed Kingdom, you wished you weren’t fighting alone. The sun was high in the sky, and there wasn’t a single cloud on sight; you were tired, and there was definitely blood trickling down your arm from a bad looking cut on your right shoulder. Although you managed to put a safe distance between you and the men – now three of them, you were forced to admit that you were in worrying disadvantage; your daggers were both scattered on the floor too far from where you stood, and your opponents were way too skilled for you to face without a weapon.

Ignoring the pain you felt as you tried to lift your right arm, you lifted your shaking hand in mid air, ready to use magic, even if – since you were surrounded by trees, it wasn’t the wisest choice.

However, what you definitely did not expect to happen, was for someone to appear out of thin air, placing their left hand right above your right one, making your head snap towards the new arrived.

«The bard?!», you questioned – louder than you meant to, as you recognized the tall boy standing next to you as the boy who was playing the lyre in the tavern where you met Wooyoung few days ago.

Instinctively, you tried to yank your hand out his firm hold in the vain attempt to put some distance between the two of you, but he didn’t let you.

«Hyunjin,» he gently answered, offering his name as if you had all the time in the world and weren’t in the middle of a fight, «when you feel me close my hand, cast the most powerful spell you know.»

The fact that Hyunjin didn’t wait for an answer and immediately started to slowly close his hand in a fist, made you quickly snap out of your thoughts and realize that you needed to hurry; your eyes were glowing bright red, and you made sure to follow Hyunjin’s instruction to cast the strongest spell that Hongjoong taught you, but what you saw made your concentration drastically waver.

There was no way in the world that you couldn’t recognize the spell that has just been casted, since you have heard about it since you were a little girl, eagerly asking your uncles to tell you about that time your mother defeated basically the whole Cult of Serendia’s Disciples by herself.

Hyunjin’s long fingers easily intertwined with yours, and the bounty hunters simultaneously fell lifeless on the ground while gripping their throat.

«Internal carbonization, huh? It’s been a while.» you heard Hyunjin mutter – mostly to himself, and you turned towards him, a whirlwind of questions in your head that he probably never would have answered.

Hyunjin had just used one of the forbidden spells, so why he didn’t look fatigued? You knew that it took a lot of energy, so how could a simple human -

«Who are you?» you asked, removing your hand from Hyunjin’s hold and bringing it towards your chest; your heart picked up pace, and you honestly hoped you didn’t have to fight him as well, because you highly doubted you could have won.

Hyunjin simply shrugged, before offering you a wide and dazzling smile, «Let’s just say that I’m not a foe.» he stated, and your eyebrows furrowed in doubt.

However, every possibility to prolong your conversation with him vanished as soon as you heard your name being called.

«Finally, Prince Charming made it to the rescue,» he mumbled again, placing a hand on his hip while glancing towards his left, but before you could question his words, his fingertips gently hovered above the cut on your shoulder, and you felt the sting caused from your wound immediately vanish, «I didn’t completely heal it, but at least, it won’t get infected; make sure to take care of it.»

«Wait-» you called out as he walked past you.

«Until next time!» he waved his hand in mid air with a cheerful voice, before vanishing in a gust of wind, making you wonder if you had imagined your encounter in the first place.

Everything about Chris riding a horse was solemn; from his posture to his incredibly angry expression.

«What the hell happened to you?» Chris quickly dismounted from his horse, his cape made of fur obediently following his movements as he close the distance between the two of you with hasty steps.

He slowly took in your appearance, and immediately reached out to inspect the wound on your shoulder; obviously, you couldn’t notice the relief erupting on his features as soon as he noticed that you already seemed to have taken care of it, because as soon as he approached, you instinctively lowered your gaze. Chris glanced around the two of you, noticing the corpses of your attackers, and silently cursed himself for being too late to help you.

«Everyone is worried sick, come on, let’s head back.» he added, but as soon as he wrapped his hand around your wrist, you forcefully yanked it from his hold.

«No.» you simply answered, heading to collect your daggers from the floor, cleaning the blades with part of the fabric of your opponent’s cape before sheathing them against your thighs.

«No?!» he echoed, incredulous, following you as if he was a determined not to let you run away again.

«No.» you repeated, spinning on your heels just to find Chris standing closer than you imagined, «I won’t go back – I can’t.»

Chris simply raised one of his eyebrows, placing his hands on his hips as if he was silently urging you to go on and explain yourself; only then, you allowed yourself to take in the appearance of the boy standing in front of you.

There were undeniable dark circles under his eyes, and you deduced that he must have come back recently from his trip to the Capital, only for the awareness that Chris and Felix came back from the Capital at least four days ago to sink in; there was a wild thought running through your brain, a small doubt saying that Chris was genuinely worried for you, but you blatantly decided to ignore it.

«If I stay, you’ll be in danger. Changbin, Lea – I can’t possibly do this to them.» you explained, and he wordlessly looked around the two of you, running a hand through his dark hair out of frustration.

«And you can do this to yourself?» he questioned, making your remark melt on your throat; you answered with a brief nod, and Chris sighed in exasperation.

«Listen-»

«There’s a bounty on my head, Chris, not on yours. I can’t spend my days taking advantage of Changbin’s hospitality and then expect to protect them as soon as bounty hunters show up. I want them to live a peaceful and quiet life, as far away from trouble as possible.» you had to admit that talking about what you have silently been thinking about for weeks was like getting rid of an enormous weight on your soul, but you definitely didn’t expect for Chris to reach out and gently envelope you into a hug; you closed your eyes, timidly placing your hands on his hips, and let him place his chin on top of your head.

«I believe you’re missing few essential points,» he gently spoke, «when you showed up at Changbin’s, did you ask for help or you simply appeared out of nowhere?» you tensed up, his words neatly contrasting the gentle movements of his hand threading through your hair, «but most importantly, when you decided to see Wooyoung, did you ask me and Lix to come, or did we simply tag along?»

«What I’m trying to say,» it was as if Chris could feel your eyebrows furrow in doubt, because he explained himself further, «I honestly doubt that you faced every problem on your own back home, right? So… don’t be afraid to ask for help, because there are people who genuinely want to help you. Aren’t we friends?»

«We are not,» you clarified on the verge of tears, «I want to strangle you every time you open your stupid mouth.» you admitted, and Chris huffed a laugh in response, slightly tightening his arms around you.

«You sure do have suggestive fantasies, Princess.» he mumbled with a shrug, making you snort in reflex.

Eventually, Chris let go of your frame, wiping few tears from your cheek using his thumb; by now, you were used to his snarky and competitive comments and therefore, his gentle and sincere gaze took you off guard.

«Do you want to come home, so that we can figure something out?» Chris questioned, and you instinctively nodded; whether you did it because you could still hear his fast heartbeat from when he hugged you, or whether you did it because you felt strangely safe in that moment, you decided not to think too much about it.

It was hard to explain the utter relief erupting on Changbin’s and Lea’s faces as soon as you and Chris rode back home. Felix, on the other hand, simply sat on the porch with a satisfied smile and his eyes bright green; as soon as you noticed the leaves slowly floating above the palms of his joined hands disappear, you understood that he must have used magic in order to locate you.

Exactly two days after you tried to escape, you decided to tell the others why you choose to run away in the first place; you settled for being as honest as possible, only hiding about what happened in the woods and therefore, about Hyunjin’s mysterious appearance. Everyone patiently listened to you, while trying to come up with an efficient solution.

Even though she cared for you just as if you were her daughter, Lea – and half of the servants, didn’t know how to fight and therefore, since the probability of bounty hunters finding out your hiding location was high, the most clever solution was for you to constantly be on the run.

«If I remember correctly, Wooyoung said that someone in Duvencrune managed to summon Garmoth.» Changbin spoke, claiming everyone’s attention.

«Did he? But… Isn’t that almost impossible?» Lea voiced her doubt; although she didn’t have any magical power, it was safe to say that everyone knew that the most known way to meet a God was to die.

“I wonder why Seonghwa and Jongho managed to meet them”, you thought, aware that your doubts would remain unanswered forever.

«I don’t want to doubt his intentions, but we might be lured into a trap.» Felix added, smiling apologetically at you, making you nod your head in a silent answer; you didn’t want to doubt Wooyoung either, since after all he took a huge risk while coming to see you, but…

«The only way to find out, is to check it out ourselves.» Chris spoke, as if he could hear your train of thoughts and decided to finish it for you.

«You really enjoy risking your life, don’t you?» Felix sighed, but didn’t try to oppose his friend’s decision, which simply answered with a confident shrug, followed by a «scared, your Highness?»

«Please, no! I don’t want to disturb you further than this.» you spoke, but Lea promptly lifted her hand in mid air, silencing you.

«Nonsense, your mother was my best friend, and this is the least I can do.» Lea dismissively said, before pointing her index finger towards her husband, «You’ll go with them.»

«Me?» Changbin questioned, pointing to himself.

«Who else? Do I look like a child of Nature?»

That’s how, on a Sunday morning, you, Chris, Felix and Changbin started to pack your belongings, headed towards the rocky city of Duvencrune, expertly carved in the side of a mountain and silently watching over Garmoth’s nest since generation.

The road was clear ahead of your quartet, but even so, Felix seemed restless; you saw him mumble something to Chris, which briefly nodded at him before directing his horse behind yours and Changbin’s; you watched Chris with furrowed brows, waiting for an explanation, but he simply winked at you in a confident way, before locking his gaze on his long time friend.

Felix, on the other hand, was busy examinating some leaves peacefully floating on the palm of his hand; it was the same spell he used to locate you when you ran away, you deduced, but who was he trying to locate this time?

It couldn’t possibly be someone from the Cursed Kingdom, you thought; they generally moved either in couples or in small groups, so there was not a high possibility for them to be already tailing you – moreover you were sure that Felix would have noticed them.

All of a sudden, the leaves seemed to start floating more aggressively, almost moving in a fast spiral, only for Felix to tighten his fist with a quick move, making the spell disappear at once.

«I wonder how long you’re planning to follow us.» Felix spoke, and few seconds later, a familiar boy jumped from one of the maple branches above your head, just to effortlessly step on Felix’s horses, sitting right behind him, with his back against his.

«I tend to forget children of Earth can chit-chat with trees.» Hyunjin teased; even if Changbin and Chris instinctively started riding closer to you, the fact that no one tried to attack him was probably because Felix was silently stating that Hyunjin was not a threat.

“It’s quite strange,” you thought; Hyunjin was acting as if him and Felix were long time friends, and on the other hand, everything about Felix’s posture seems to be at ease with Hyunjin’s presence.

“Either Felix is really strong or they know each other,” you simply stated, deciding to let the others decide what to do; after all, Hyunjin saved your life.

If Felix didn’t seem to mind about the bard’s presence, Changbin and Chris definitely had a different opinion on the matter; they both rode close to you, and you noticed how both of them seemed to be ready to start fighting at any moment.

«Where are we going?» Hyunjin asked few moments later with a big content sigh, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

«We?» Chris echoed with a scoff, but eventually refrained from speaking sarcastic remarks as he saw Felix shaking his head towards him.

«I’m a bard,» Hyunjin stated, as if he was putting an effort into answering him, «I sing about new adventures, and not to mention your Princess owes me one.»

At once, three pair of eyes were on you; Hyunjin chuckled, obviously amused about the fact that apparently, you had decided to keep your encounter a secret.

«When the hunters attacked me, he helped me fight them, he’s a child of Air.» you simply explained, avoiding to mention the forbidden spell part.

«And he casually happened to walk by?» Changbin questioned, and you simply shrugged; although everything regarding Hyunjin’s presence was suspicious, it was undeniable that you wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t intervene and therefore, your group agreed to keep him around.

That night, when you stopped in order to get few hours of sleep, Felix quickly mumbled something to Chris, whose eyes were locked on Hyunjin’s figure, eagerly talking to you and Changbin next to a small fireplace.

«You still haven’t told me where our adventure will take us.» the bard questioned later, interrupting Chris’ attempt to start a conversation with you.

«Duvencrune,» Changbin answered, «we’re looking for someone.»

«Oh, interesting.» Hyunjin hummed, before resuming his previous action of playing his small lyre.

«It’s gonna take less time if we avoid passing through the villages,» Changbin explained, «if we head west from here, the vegetation won’t be too rich, and the weather will increasingly be dryer; it will take less, but we will be an easy target.»

Even so, with you having lived within the Cursed Kingdom’s territories for the majority of your life, Felix and Chris not knowing anything about where you were and Hyunjin simply nodding at Changbin’s proposal, the only thing you could do was to trust him.

«Sulien, that’s the woman you’re looking for.» Hyunjin spoke out of the blue, as his eyes seemed to glow in a menacing dark shade of greyish colour – definitely different from your mother’s.

«How do you know?» you immediately questioned him; however, Hyunjin never gave you a proper answer.

«Doesn’t the wind know everything, Princess?» were the only words he spoke for the whole day.

The trip to Duvencrune lasted eight days, definitely less than you originally had expected.

Hyunjin kept close to you half of the time, and the other half was spent riding Felix’s horse while sitting in random positions; although Hyunjin was doing his best, you didn’t miss to notice how he would sometimes look at your friends with disgusted faces, just to give you a dazzling smile as soon as he noticed that your eyes were on him.

Changbin meticulously checked his compass and the position of the Sun, leaving to Felix the task to check your surroundings while using magic. Chris was in charge of setting and undoing the small camps every time you decided to stop in order to take few hours of rest, without forgetting to beat the ground and scatter some leaves above your temporary camps, so that it wouldn’t have been too easy to follow you.

The hunt was a coordinated act among you, Felix and Chris; to be honest, the Prince and his long time friend could have done everything by themselves but still, you were desperate to learn something useful.

So, that’s how you went from placing your hand flat on the ground next to Felix’s, curiously glancing at this bright green eyes staring unfocused at the ground in front of him, trying to locate a possible prey; needless to say, being a daughter of Fire, you couldn’t feel anything.

Therefore, after recognizing Chris’ talent in archery anytime Felix lured a prey close to where he was, your main goal was to learn how to hunt; of course you knew the basics of archery, but even so, shooting to a still target was definitely different to shoot to a moving one.

«Your stance still says that you’re not expecting for the prey to flee, fireball, and that’s gonna make you starve.» Chris spoke, and your grip on the bow loosened, bringing it closer to your hips.

«I really don’t get the whole “follow the line” thing.» you admitted, referring to one of his previous suggestion, expecting another sarcastic remark. Instead, Chris thoughtfully nodded at you, glancing around the opening where you were resting; he snapped his fingers, and not that far from you, few small floating balls made of water started to move in different directions.

Chris walked right behind you, and if he decided to hold the bow with a tight grip right above your hand, he did the opposite thing for the arrow; this time, your fingers ghosted above his, and you felt as if after all, you never learned how to properly shoot.

It would have been nice for you to be able to concentrate, however, with Chris’ arms firmly caging you and his gentle voice explaining everything about how to properly hunt made it impossible for you to register more than few words he said. Once again, you decided not to think too much about it, saying that it was probably because beside Wooyoung and Seonghwa, you haven’t been held definitely in a while.

«The secret is to predict the opponent’s movement, and aim just a little ahead of them,» Chris spoke dangerously close to your ear, as he was focused on not to miss on his shot; you did your best to keep your breathing synchronized to his, and in the moment the two of you were exhaling, Chris’ fingers loosened around the arrow, and few seconds later, the small ball of water crashed on the ground under the form of a faint and localized rain pour.

«That’s it, you want to try again?» he questioned, and whether you immediately nodded because you really needed more practice or you instinctively felt the need to keep him close to you, you decided not to think too much about it.

«Uh, are they a thing?» Hyunjin questioned, his eyes following both you and Chris with interest and a hint of amusement.

«Not yet.» Felix retorted immediately without feeling the need to check what the two of you were doing, laying with his eyes closed as he quietly rested under the sunlight.

«I say they’d look cute together.» Changbin nodded, with a wide smile on his face.

As obvious as it sounded, your only task was to keep the fire alive anytime you stopped in order to rest: bright enough to keep them warm and properly cook your food but not bright enough to be spotted by eventual enemies.

However, thanks to Yeosang’s enchanted glove, the task was as easy as kid’s play. The ability to use alchemy whenever you wanted meant that you definitely didn’t need wood in order to create a fireplace; Felix easily provided you few strand of dried bushes, which would have burned around the handle of your enchanted sword, effectively creating a fireplace but not leaving traces of warm and burnt wood behind you.

Keeping the fire alive meant that you could sleep for most of the morning, but you had to stay awake for most of the night, willingly keeping watch and gladly accepting whether someone decided to stay awake with you. Of course, you definitely didn’t miss to notice the fact that Chris’ company was almost a constant throughout your sleepless nights.

Although the two of you sat at a reasonable distance at first, sharing stories about your past and your hometowns, said distance eventually ended up disappearing, and eventually, you and Chris sat next to each other, your knees brushing anytime one of you decided to adjust their position.

«I’m telling you, that night Felix was three sheet to the wind,» Chris whispered animatedly, glancing fondly at his friend who was asleep.

«He was three sheet what?» you echoed; you weren’t sure whether it was your mutual exhaustion or the fact that Chris had so many unusual figures of speech but you found yourself giggling, and the boy curiously glanced at you.

«It means being drunk,» he explained, scratching his nape, «you probably don’t use it here.» when you shook your head, he nodded once, and if only you weren’t so tired and it wasn’t the middle of the night, you would have noticed a faint blush colouring his cheeks.

«You stopped, why?» you gently nudged his elbow, «I want to know more.»

«About?» Chris asked, immediately trying to recall some other fun fact to tell you.

«You.» you immediately retorted without thinking, only to realize it as soon as Chris’ head snapped towards you, the fireplace’s colours dancing in his blue left eye, «I mean, more about your life.»

“That’s even worse, great job”, you thought, blaming the fact that you were tired for the fact that you were embarrassing yourself like that.

«Oh, sink me.» you heard Chris mumble, and immediately you were thrown in another fit of giggles, which definitely didn’t went unnoticed by the boy.

«You seriously need to stop making fun of me, fireball.» Chris said while hiding a smile.

He quickly snaked his arm around your neck, just to effortlessly pull you against his chest; the boy started scratching your head while using his knuckles – not actually hurting you, making you laugh even more while trying to reach out to escape from his grasp.

«Who’s gonna fucking tell them?» Hyunjin mouthed to Felix, which was laying on the ground facing the bard.

«Not me, for sure.» he mouthed back, quickly glancing at Changbin, wondering how could he sleep through all this shameless flirting attempts.

Riding a horse for the most part of the day right under the sun, with an increasingly arid climate and surrounded by uncultivated land was definitely tougher that you thought. Even though everyone kept asking you how you were feeling, whether you wanted to take a break, you didn’t want to furthermore slow your group.

«We’ll be at the feet of the mountain by noon,» Changbin explained, «from there, the road will constantly be uphill but – if I remember correctly, there are some trees along the way.»

«How do you know so much? We’re pretty far from Heidel, did you travel a lot?» you questioned, and Changbin nodded, keeping his gaze ahead of himself.

«I used to travel a lot when I was younger, but I married Lea and I eventually stopped. She doesn’t like it much.» he briefly explained, and you nodded at him with a smile.

Changbin’s adoration for his wife was the trait that reminded him about Hongjoong the most; when you were a child and still lived in Velia, it was an extremely known fact that Hongjoong was absolutely whipped for your mother.

With a silent sigh, you realized that Changbin stopped travelling because he didn’t want to force Lea to do something she didn’t like, and you found yourself wondering if you would ever meet a partner like that.

“Why am I even going there?” you immediately interrupted your fantasies with a short intake of breath, mostly because you were scared about where your brain would have wandered next.

Evening was about to set on the fourth day of your trip, and everything was going unexpectedly smoothly, maybe, a little bit too much. Although you refused to voice your thought because you believed being blinded by paranoia, you felt like being watched; the fact that you kept sneaking glances around yourselves definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Hyunjin, who, even thought was aware about the fact that you were about to be attacked, couldn’t do anything to prevent it.

«Don’t meddle yourself with human affairs too much, for you are not one of them.» Karanda had told him, and he was determined to follow the orders he had received; even so, he found himself hoping that Felix could manage to locate and identify your attackers just in time.

However, Felix noticed them a little too late; an arrow emitted from the luxuriant leaves of one of the nearby trees, painfully sinking in your right thigh. Needless to say, your horse went wild as soon as he heard the hiss of the arrow right next to his ear, and immediately stood on his hind legs, effortlessly throwing you off the saddle; Hyunjin, however, quickly prevented you from unceremoniously fall to the gravel ground and hit your head by making you float for few seconds, gradually accompanying you to a sitting position.

With a pained groan, your hand flew on your thigh, and you felt the colour drain from your face as you took notice of the feathers adorning the end of the arrow.

“It’s from the Cursed Kingdom,” you noticed, “it’s poisoned for sure”. If both Chris and Changbin were immediately at your side, Felix was effortlessly casting a spell – now helped by Hyunjin, in order to capture your attackers.

Changbin quickly climbed down from his horse – quickly nodding at Chris and telling him to help the others, and you watched with trembling hands as your friend easily snapped the arrow in two.

«I think it’s – Changbin, it may be poisoned.» you warned him, and Changbin glanced to his left, just in time to see your attackers being dragged on the ground while being tightly wrapped up in ropes.

Gradually, you started to feel your head spin and your world started to fade to black, and the only words you could register after Chris’ anxiously calling for your name, was one of your attackers – the oldest among the two, confidently say: «Ever heard of poison? Guess what? Give it an hour.»

«If she doesn’t wake up within a minute, consider yourselves food for the wolves.» you heard Chris spat with a rough and unfriendly tone, definitely not what you were used to; with a weak groan, you opened your eyes, immediately noticing that the wound on your leg didn’t hurt as much as it did earlier.

«Take it easy,» Changbin’s arms were quick to sustain your attempt to sit up, and you willingly let him place himself behind you, so that you could easily stay in a sitting position. «how are you feeling?»

«Sleepy and tired, what happened to the poison?» you mumbled back; if you learned something from Changbin’s teaching, was that the position of the sun signalled that it was afternoon, meaning that at least twelve hours had passed since the ambush.

«Well, Prince Charming tortured the bounty hunters until he found the antidote.» Hyunjin chimed in, nodding towards two boys who were still tied up; they were about your age, you noticed, both with raven black hair and a stoic face.

«Did you hurt them that badly?» you croaked, questioning Chris and Felix, which respectively shook their head and shrugged.

«They’re harmless; Seungmin and Jeongin, bounty hunters from the Cursed Kingdom.» Chris explained, and only then, you noticed that his hand didn’t waver for a second from gently holding your wrist, his index finger right above your pulse point.

It took you few hours to effectively regain your strength, and although your friends admonished your attempt to excuse yourself from being poisoned like a fool while constantly saying that it wasn’t your fault, you still felt guilty.

The group unanimously agreed to keep both Seungmin and Jeongin with you, so that you could keep an eye on them.

«After all, they willingly gave us the antidote.» Felix said.

«Did you see how scary Chris was? Of course they willingly gave it up.» Changbin immediately retorted, and even thought Seungmin and Jeongin were tied up most of the times, you and the others still gave them water and something to eat every time you stopped to camp.

However, after two days both Seungmin and Jeongin completely gave up their decision to capture you in order to bring you back to Hongjoong; whether it happened because Chris had pinned Seungmin to the ground with his dagger pressed against his throat, threatening to tear both of them apart if they ever tried to hurt you again, that’s something that – in Chris’ opinion, you didn’t need to know.

Duvencrune’s citizens were extremely welcoming towards foreigners, always asking everyone who stopped by about their hometowns.

Situated at the feet of the mountain, Garmoth’s nest resembled the threatening claws of a dragon; four huge and curved spikes made of rock erupted from the ground – so high they seemed to graze at the sky, and eventually, people from Duvencrune decided to build four altars at the base of every claw.

Although no one had ever seen the dragon roaming in the huge nest, citizens still held rituals in order to pray for the God’s benevolence.

«I wonder if we’ll manage to see the altar! Apparently, outsiders can’t personally get too close to it.» Felix excitedly spoke as your group was roaming the city trying to gather informations.

«I wonder why you’re trying to get informations about that cursed thing.» Seungmin said, just for his sentence to end with a pained groan.

It was obvious that you couldn’t walk around the city with Seungmin and Jeongin being tied up without catching attention, and therefore, Hyunjin provided to create an elemental and invisible rope made out of thin air; no one would have been able to see anything, but Seungmin and Jeongin would have felt an incredible pressure on their chest anytime they misbehaved.

«Cursed?» the child of Air nonchalantly echoed.

«Our King said that - » Jeongin started, however, his words were cut short.

«If that’s something Hongjoong said, then I’m not interested in those foul lies.» Hyunjin finished, and the bounty hunters didn’t utter a word for the rest of the day.

«Are you sure you’re okay?» Chris gently questioned you, noticing the fact that you were limping; you weakly nodded at him, but didn’t refuse his offer to link your arm with his.

Although you wanted to rest, although your leg begged you to take it easy, you didn’t want to waste any more time, and eventually ended up spending your day roaming through the city.

Few days later, not only your leg was almost completely healed thanks to some local weird looking herb, but you could effectively walk for hours without limping.

«What’s the plan for today?» Chris asked with a yawn as you were having breakfast in one of the inns of the city.

«At this point, we should directly ask around about Sulien,» you answered, referring to the fact that you didn’t manage to learn anything useful during the time you already spent in the city.

«I could go to the town’s market,» Felix eagerly said, and judging by the excitement in his eyes, you knew that gathering informations wasn’t his main goal; nevertheless, you nodded at him with a smile.

«Seungmin and Jeongin will come with us,» Hyunjin added, gesturing to himself and Felix, and you nodded, as your eyes stopped on the two bounty hunters occasionally joke to themselves every now and then while listening to you; although you didn’t know what exactly happened when you passed out, you still decided not to inquire on the reason why they were silently following your group without trying to escape once.

Changbin – who had been focused on sheepishly eating his breakfast, suddenly groaned in pain, as if he had been kicked right under the table by a smiling Felix, «Yeah, uh, I – I think I’ll check the town’s market as well.» he simply said, leaving you and Chris to investigate on your own.

Although the city of Duvencrune was on top of a mountain and therefore constantly under the sun, the constant and gentle breeze made the days not too hot; you had to admit, it would have been considered romantic, even, the fact that you and Chris found a way to chat and laugh together while keeping close to each other, and the fact that you were sometimes exchanged for a couple definitely didn’t help your attempts to stop your imagination from roaming free.

For your sake, you decided to ignore the fact that Chris had stopped denying the fact, even though the small spark of hope about Chris liking you as well seemed to be already ignited in your soul.

«Okay, matey, the next person around our age we see it’s gonna be our target.» Chris sighed, probably as tired as you were about hearing that apparently, no one knew about Sulien’s whereabouts; you nodded at him, glad about the fact that apparently, luck was on your side, since as soon as you turned into an alley, a boy around your age walked right out of it, almost bumping into the two of you in the process.

Even thought both you and Chris apologized, the boy didn’t say anything, and simply nodded once in recognition without uttering a single word.

«Excuse me,» you added, taking advantage of the fact that he was still standing there, «we’re looking for Sulien, do you -» however, before you could finish your sentence, the boy’s eyes widened, and he quickly walked away from both you and Chris.

«Well, at least that wasn’t a “I don’t know her”.» Chris commented, and you could only nod in exasperation, mumbling a weak «oh, sink me,» which immediately made Chris laugh.

The two of you decided to spend the next few hours strolling around the city, your mission to ask about Sulien to people long forgotten, and hoping that your friends managed to have more luck than you did.

As the two of you were walking in front a residential area, however, Chris stopped you by a firm but gentle hold on your elbow, silently signalling you to look towards your left as soon as you locked your eyes with his.

In the middle of the alleyway, you noticed the boy you ran into few hours earlier now talking with another boy who must have been the same age as him, before eventually; they noticed you as well.

«Do we run away?» you quickly whispered to Chris, as you noticed that they were now walking towards you, easily closing the distance that separated you.

«Of course not, fireball.» he confidently whispered back, just in time for the two boys to stop in front of you.

«My brother told me an interesting story,» one of them started, «why would you look for Sulien?» he inquired, standing almost protectively in front of the boy you met few hours earlier; however, before you could answer, the latter mumbled something at the other’s ear, and his expression immediately softened.

«You’re right, Jisung.» he gently spoke, before addressing you in his usual harsh way. «Come with us.»

Chris followed them without the hint of hesitation, and instinctively, you reached out to hold his hand; whether you did it to silently tell him to be more careful, whether you did it because you needed a little bit of comfort in front of that strange and unpredictable situation, definitely wasn’t important, since Chris wordlessly and immediately intertwined his fingers with yours, while keeping his proud gaze up ahead.

Jisung and his brother – which eventually introduced as Minho, led you through a series of empty alleyways, just to stop to arrive at what appeared to be an abandoned shed; there weren’t proper doors or windows, just few parts of a rotten wall which seemed to magically sustain a rooftop.

Chris was standing right next to you, your silent anxiety mirrored by his tense posture.

«No one will overhear our conversation, now.» Minho spoke as he blankly stared at you, as if he was waiting for you to answer to his previous question.

«Someone told us Sulien managed to meet Garmoth.» you explained with a weak voice, cautiously glancing around as if you expected to fall in another ambush.

«And that “someone” is Kim Hongjoong?» he spat back, making your knees feel weak.

The fact that Minho knew about Hongjoong could only mean one thing: you were late.

«That’s not something you need to know.» Chris quickly spoke in your defence, but Minho sneered, taking a confident step in front of his brother.

«I believe you are forgetting that we are the one with the informations you need.» he smirked triumphally, pointing to himself and Jisung with his index finger.

Tightening your hold around Chris’ hand, you realized that at that point, there wasn’t much you could do; the fact that Minho and Jisung seemed to know about Hongjoong’s plan meant that the only thing you could do was to be as honest as you could.

«I am Hongjoong’s daughter,» you admitted, ignoring Chris’ grip tightening on your hand, «however, the informations don’t come directly from him; you can verify yourself that there’s a – that Hongjoong is looking for me, but we don’t… exactly work together.» you quickly glanced to your right, satisfied with Chris’ quick nod of approval at your explanation.

Once again, you saw Jisung leaning towards Minho, mumbling something to his hear; Minho seemed to be lost in thoughts for few seconds, before he eventually nodded.

«We can help you,» Minho spoke, crossing his arms in front of his chest «but at one condition: take us with you.»

CHAPTER IV

«Don’t get me wrong, but - did we really need to pick up more strays?» as you and your friends sat in Minho and Jisung’s small kitchen, Seungmin questioned the decision to bring both of them along with you.

«Aren’t you one as well, Seungmin?» you immediately retorted, effortlessly making the assassin stop talking.

Minho and Jisung both welcomed you and the others in their house, calmly explaining to you that Sulien – the woman you were desperately looking for during the past days, had passed away many years before your arrival.

«I hope this is the part where you tell us that you still have her notes or whatever she used to summon Garmoth.» Chris’ tone hid a hint of exasperation as his mismatched eyes were locked on Minho, who simply answered with a brief nod.

«We will help you, but we need a proof that you’ll take us with you.» Minho repeated himself, and you furrowed your brows.

«Why would you want to leave that badly? This place seems pretty safe.» Hyunjin absently questioned, not really paying attention to the answer, since he didn’t get one in the first place.

«It’s… personal.» Minho said, and you understood that both him and Jisung weren’t going to trust neither you nor the others that easily – not that you could blame them.

«Here, take this.» with a quick movement, you unclasped one of your daggers from the leather harness around your left thigh; the sheath was embroided with the same golden pattern of the hilt.

«Wait,» Changbin jolted on his chair, but you easily stopped him while briefly shaking your head.

«It was my mother’s,» you explained, pushing the dagger towards Minho and Jisung by making it slide on the table, «that’s the only thing I can use to prove our good intentions.»

Once again, Jisung reached out to mumble something against Minho’s ear, who listened patiently; the latter briefly nodded at him, before reaching out to grab your dagger.

«Wait, I got distracted, who cooked dinner?» Changbin questioned, quickly preventing you from eating a mouthful of delicious looking stew by gently holding your wrist. «It was me!» Jeongin innocently replied, and Changbin’s eyebrows furrowed; as if the young assassin understood what the child of Water was implying, he quickly rummaged through the pockets of his jacket, proudly placing a small sealed bottle on the table.

«It’s not poisoned! See? The bottle is sealed!» Jeongin spoke with a big smile, and Seungmin hid his face in his hands with a groan; although the two assassins had made it clear that they suddenly didn’t want to kill you anymore, Changbin was still extremely wary of them, often hanging around with the assassins just to keep an eye on them.

«Should I test it for poison?» Seungmin innocently questioned, and Changbin snorted in disbelief.

«No, it’s too risky - you might not die. I’ll do it.» still faintly holding your wrist with one hand, Changbin hesitantly tasted the stew, just to confirm that – indeed, it was not poisoned.

Both Minho and Jisung were looking at each of you – each of your reactions to what just happened, with curious and incredulous faces; however, since by now, it was completely normal to you, you didn’t pay too much attention to it.

«If you’ll come with us, you’ll find out that nothing goes according to plan with this group.» Hyunjin addressed them with his usual tone laced with amusement.

«Because you’re there, right Hyunjin?» Felix immediately questioned, and the bard silently answered with a playful wink.

With a heavy sigh, you did your best to focus on the happiness you felt about eating a traditional recipe from the Cursed Kingdom, not thinking about how stressful the trip ahead of you was going to be.

The plan was rather simple: you would have taken advantage of the monthly local festival in order to sneak into Garmoth’s nest.

«People will be focused on lightning up lanterns, and if everything goes according to plan, no one will pay attention to us.» Minho explained; of course, in order to reach the altars in the first place, you definitely couldn’t use the main route.

The downhill towards Garmoth’s nest was a wide path which started from the city; it was full of twists and turns, not to mention that the natural location of the town made said path very easy to watch over – making people driven by their own curiosity easily refrain in fear of a possible sanction.

«There’s a passage,» Minho explained, as he unfolded on the wooden table a rough sketch of what seemed to be a map of Duvencrune, «it’s wide enough for us to walk without obstacles and impediments, and most importantly, no one uses it anymore.»

«Aren’t there any guards?» Jeongin curiously questioned him, and both Minho and Jisung shook their heads.

«Duvencrune’s citizens are deeply devoted, and consider everything regarding Garmoth as holy; no one would sneak in.» as Minho spoke, your eyes were focused on him, trying to guess why would both him and Jisung help a group of perfect strangers.

«What if we get caught?» Felix asked, and Minho simply gave him a mischievous smile.

«Despite the fact that for centuries the city had been devoted to the God of Fire, this city was designed by thieves - there’s always an escape route.»

The following days were divided into strolling around the city and spending your time safely nestled in Minho’s house, carefully plotting on what you had to do.

«Travellers are taught that there are a total of four altars at Garmoth’s nest, which is in fact, a lie,» Minho explained one windy evening, immediately claiming your attention as he placed on the coffee table a small box filled with strange looking bright red flowers; «there’s another altar – the one actually used for rituals, which you can’t see from up here.»

«And the flowers?» Felix questioned, and Hyunjin nonchalantly stood up from his chair and reached out to grab one of the flowers, just to walk towards the opposite way of the room, right in front of the open window.

«They are called fire silk flowers,» Minho explained once again, «these flowers and these notes are everything Sulien has left us.»

Out the corner of your eye, you could see Hyunjin scoff while hiding a smug smile, but you did not pay too much attention to it.

«Sulien… Fire silk flowers, huh?» the bard quietly mumbled to himself, as he peeled off a bright red petal from the flower in his hands, «I say you haven’t lost your touch with your beloved illusions, Dragon.» Hyunjin pretended to run a hand through his hair, but instead, he tossed the petal out of the window, entrusting the wind to make it fly all the way to Karanda.

As a moonless night was draped over the sky, your group had once again returned at the inn. Lying on the soft mattress of your room, you admitted to yourself that the company that had come to be created was as bizarre as much as it was pleasant.

Changbin was by now basically part of your family, and you often seeked for his words of advice; you found comforting how he had the habit to keep an eye on you, even if just to silently ask you if you were okay. It was clear that his deep and great esteem for Hongjoong was the main reason for his resentment; however, whenever the matter was mentioned, Changbin always did his best to speak only of the positive events that came to his memory.

Felix and Chris were definitely fun to be around; although sometimes you couldn’t understand what they were exactly talking about due the uniqueness of Iliya’s dialect, they provided to lighten up the mood quite often.

Felix’s personality was as gentle and soothing as moonlight, and you could easily figure out that he must have been a respected and beloved Prince; although he has only been nice and friendly to you, sometimes, you could notice him looking at the horizon with an extremely lone gaze, and – you reluctantly had to admit, it made you feel lonely as well.

Chris was not only the stark opposite of his friend, but his behaviour kept confusing you to no end; his teasing remarks alternated with gentle and soft gazes and sometimes, you suspected for his rivalry tone to be just a facade.

Not to mention, you realized that you didn’t feel attracted to Chris just because he was extremely handsome, but for his whole personality as well; it wasn’t difficult to realize that sometimes, the others purposely let the two of you spend some time alone, and you didn’t fail to notice how you started to look forward to those moments.

The realization that eventually, both Chris and Felix would have returned to Iliya Island while you didn’t even know if you would manage to survive striked in, making you realize that feelings that you started developing for the boy who was taking a hold of your heart as slowly and as steadily as a high tide at noon were probably fleeting and meaningless.

Hyunjin was, essentially, an enigma. He made it clear more than once that he loathed men with every inch of his soul, statement which always made you giggle because: «aren’t you one as well?»

Sometimes, you had the feeling that Hyunjin was not completely human; he would sing about lost tales and lost battles that seemed to have happened centuries ago, and still, from the way he talked about those events, it seemed like he had been a direct witness. Moreover, there was the part where Hyunjin used one of the forbidden spell without being affected by it.

Seungmin and Jeongin were probably the biggest surprise: they went from trying to forcefully drag you back to the Cursed Kingdom to run errands under Changbin’s order. More than once, they stated that they wanted to help you due to a change of heart.

«We are not children of Nature, but our parents are.» Seungmin explained, «as you know, only children of Nature are corrupted by Hongjoong’s power, we just blindly follow the ideals of our loved ones.»

Minho and Jisung were group’s new entry, and you wondered if you would have managed to get along. Minho was a child of Fire, just like you, and he seemed really determined.

Jisung wasn’t a child of Nature; you wondered if the fact that he only seemed to talk with Minho was selective mutism or he was just really shy, but you found yourself hoping that one day, he would trust you and the others enough to let you hear his voice.

“Why am I looking so forward to the future?” you questioned yourself with a silent scoff as you tossed and turned in bed yet another time. To say that the future was uncertain was a euphemism, and even thought you tried not to let anyone else notice, you were terrified of it.

As you were busy tossing and turning in bed, Hyunjin was quietly strolling through the inn’s dim lit hallways, busy caressing with his fingertips the texture of the fire silk petal that the wind carried back to him not too long ago.

“Let their fate do its course,” the message Karanda sent him was simple; however, the lack of further explanations didn’t seem to please him.

«What did you see, Karanda, and why don’t you want to tell me?» Hyunjin breathed softly, his words - barely above a whisper, unable to reach his long time friend.

Too lost in thought, Hyunjin didn’t notice that the door on his left was suddenly opening before he found himself being roughly yanked inside a room and his back harshly pressed against the sturdy wall.

Felix was looking at him, and angry scowl painted on his graceful features, and Hyunjin furrowed his eyes in doubt, since he had never seen such emotions portrayed on his face; quickly glancing around the room, he noticed that Felix was indeed alone.

«You know, if you wanted a midnight tryst with me you could have asked.» Hyunjin hissed, a hint of irritation hidden in his usual tone, as he quickly brushed away the firm grip the Prince still had on his shoulders.

Felix scoffed, «You sound a little too confident, for someone who has been found out.» he spoke, happy about the fact that for a second, Hyunjin’s composed and stoic face didn’t seem to be able to hide his surprise. «The trees I can chit-chat with just told me an interesting story, wanna hear it?» Felix went on, his usual patient and gentle behaviour suddenly nowhere to be seen as his eyes were a bright shade of green – as he was probably still trying to communicate with nature.

«What do you know?» it was clear to Hyunjin that at this point, he couldn’t deny to be sent by Karanda herself, he just hoped for Felix not to be the kind of person that kisses and tell.

«Everything.» Felix immediately answered while crossing his arms in front of his chest, making the bard hiss a frustrated sigh. «But actually… I think I have something to talk you about.»

The Prince sat on his bed, tilting his head towards his left and silently inviting Hyunjin to sit next to him; needless to say, the bard complied, curiosity having the best of him. Apparently, Felix had received a curious order from Offin herself.

«Did she talk to you?» Hyunjin’s eyebrows lifted in surprise; for all he knew, the Goddess of Earth had refused to meet her children since Jongho’s mind had been corrupted, could she have changed her mind all of a sudden?

However, Felix shook his head, «The trees carried her words; apparently, I should “help the disguised harpy”.» he added, his tone suddenly sounding gentler, as his eyes returned to their original warm colour.

«That would be me.» Hyunjin softly mumbled.

«I know, I’ve heard so many things in so little time, I thought I was about to go insane,» Felix whined, placing his elbows on his knees in order to hide his face in his hands; «the thing is, the Goddess of Earth gave the both of us an order.»

Although you were certain that sooner or later, everyone managed to fall asleep, you still felt awake as ever; you stretched your limbs with a soft sigh, before eventually sitting up with a groan, all the chances to get a good night sleep forgotten as you walked towards the wall hanger just to wear – over your nightdress, the linen robe that the innkeeper had provided you with.

As you quietly walked through the small corridor attached to the rooms, the faint light coming from the cosy living room situated downstairs was the only signal that someone else was awake; hesitantly leaning in, you noticed that Chris was sitting in front of the fireplace, silently carving something in a small piece of wood while seeming lost in thoughts.

Secretly smiling to yourself, you walked down the stairs, wondering why the boy seemed not to have noticed you, yet. Approaching from his left side, you stopped right behind one of the wooden chairs.

«Can’t sleep?» you gently questioned, making your presence known and therefore, making Chris jolt his head towards you; could he have been so lost in thoughts that he actually didn’t notice you?

Chris briefly shook his head, «How about you?» he questioned back immediately, «the moon isn’t out tonight, but I guess it’s still pretty late.»

«Changbin snores, he… woke me up.» you lied, making Chris scoff with an amused smile; although it was easy to figure out that you were lying, the boy still respected your silence.

«He doesn’t snore loud enough to be heard next door, but keep your secrets, fireball.» he joked.

The only sound beside your soft breaths was Chris’s carving knife skilfully moving over the small birch fragment, and curiously enough, it seemed to work as a strange lullaby for you; although Chris didn’t try to make conversation, he openly moved his chair so that he could face you directly.

«Where did you learn?» you curiously asked him, trying to avoid the sudden temptation to go back to sleep.

«It’s just an old habit,» he said, «Felix is actually better than me, you know, he’s naturally predisposed to it.» he admitted with a brief chuckle; you decided to move from where you were, just to sit on the chair right next to his, so that you could take a closer look to what he was doing Once again, he adjusted his position in order to satisfy your curiosity.

«I was thinking about the future, that’s why I couldn’t sleep.» you quietly admitted after few more minutes of comfortable silence, ignoring the fact that sharing your thoughts with the boy seemed to be incredibly easy, and Chris gave you an encouraging nod, which made you keep talking, «and I’m terrified, because I don’t know what will happen – what if the whole ritual turns out to be a failure?»

«There’s a possibility,» Chris stopped his motions altogether, placing the carving knife on the coffee table; «but we’ll be there as well, we’ll figure something out.» he gently spoke. With soft sigh, you nodded at him, biting the inside of your cheek as you felt your eyes swell up with tears; at the same moment, Chris’ eyes widened, a faint trace of panic flashing into his eyes.

«Oh, sink me – don’t cry, fireball, that really places me in a bad position.» he nervously rubbed his neck as he tried to joke, and you instinctively laughed breathlessly.

«Why would that put you in a bad position?» you inquired, missing how the hint of a blush was starting to colour his cheeks.

«I really don’t know how to console you when you cry.» he admitted while shyly scratching his nape, and you forcefully held back a smile, remembering the day when he offered you his cloak as you cried your eyes out on your mother’s grave.

«When it happens, you can simply do this.» taking advantage of a little outburst of courage, you adjusted your position on the chair; you gradually leaned towards Chris, until your forehead touched his shoulder. The fact that you immediately felt him tense up made you smile to yourself, now more aware than ever that his teasing behaviour was definitely only a facade.

Although the position you were in was uncomfortable, you felt relieved as soon as Chris started to relax; you felt gentle and hesitant scratches against your nape, and you started to relax as well.

At some point of the night, both you and Chris decided to sit on the carpet, your knees touching, as you asked him to tell you more of the adventures he and Felix had.

«I’ve been really curious about something,» you used your index finger to quickly tap twice under your left eye, «does it hurt?» you shyly questioned him, and Chris simply shook his head.

«Not really, you can touch it if you want to.» he offered, and you shyly nodded at him; your hand hesitantly inched closer to his face, with the intention to brush your fingertips against his scar as gently as you could.

As your hand gradually got closer to his face, Chris patiently sat without moving, as if he was waiting for you to realize something; only when your fingertips were almost touching his soft eyelashes and still, Chris didn’t blink nor react, you realized.

«It doesn’t see anything, not anymore.» Chris spoke, his tone unreadable; you leaned towards him, unable to focus on anything else beside the boy in front of you.

In that moment, some little things you haven’t really been paying attention to seemed to be so obvious. Felix would generally stand at Chris’ left side; if at the beginning you thought it was just a habit, you realized that it was because Chris was entrusting his sight to Felix, which seemed to naturally act accordingly.

«Of course, I can do the little trick that children of Water do,» Chris tilted his head, giving you a smug smile, «but after few minutes, it gets quite uncomfortable, you know - your eyes keep seeing different things.» he admitted, and you adverted your gaze, realizing that it was probably the reason why Chris lost so easily to you the first time you met.

«When did it happen? Why didn’t Vell heal you?» you questioned, incredulous; by your family’s tales, you were convinced that the Gods were kind and understanding. The fact that Chris has mismatched eyes was the clear proof that he had died already, so why didn’t he get his sight back?

«Uh, two months before meeting you, I think?» Chris vaguely explained with his eyebrows furrowed, as if he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the day he lost part of his sight, «Vell doesn’t really like humans, especially since… Well, the whole Hongjoong issue,» he explained further, «he simply told me one of his sons has strayed to the wrong path, and I had to – get rid of him.»

Despite the whirlwind of thoughts running through your brain, a faint «Oh.» was everything you found yourself able to say.

«I’m sorry-»

«It’s okay,» you said, trying your best to come up with a convincing smile, «that means, what I have to do it’s pretty intuitive, isn’t it?»

«There has to be another way, sweetheart, I’m sure we’ll find it.» Chris didn’t directly answer your question, settling for tightly hold your hand.

Around the middle of the morning, Hyunjin knocked twice at your door.

«Come on, Princess, it’s time to go.» he called out; however, as he still didn’t hear any sign of an answer from you, he simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.

He simply brushed his fingertips in front of the keyhole, only for a loud and sharp “click” to be heard; the bard walked into your room, sighing with his hands on his hips at the sight of you being still asleep.

«It’s almost lunchtime, did you sneak out to attend a ball overnight?» he teased, giggling at the groan you answered with. «Wake up, sleepy head,» Hyunjin whispered while sitting on the edge of the mattress and gently shaking your shoulder; on the other hand, you simply groaned again, turning towards the other side.

«Five more minutes, Seonghwa.» you mumbled back out of habitude, unconsciously trying to swat away Hyunjin’s hand.

As you moved, you unconsciously brushed few strands of hair from your face, making it now fall back on the soft pillow; Hyunjin shortly widened his eyes in surprise, and his fingertips moved a strand of hair behind your ear.

«Now, this is interesting.» he smirked while holding between his fingertips the silver feather dangling from your earring. Hyunjin smiled at himself, remembering the day where Karanda gave such a prestigious gift to your mother; of course, he had wondered if Hongjoong had kept it with him, but he was surprised not to have noticed that the feather has been with you for all this time.

«Troublesome child of Fire,» he whispered, his eyes briefly flashing a dark shade of grey, «although the wind can’t guide you, it can guide me to you.»

«We’ll shortly split the group in two,» Minho announced as soon as you and the others arrived in front of his door, «Jisung, Jeongin and Changbin will secure the horses right out of the nest; once we’re done we’ll need to run away really quickly, but if we all leave now towards the same direction, we’re just claim more unwanted attention.»

«I’ll go with them as well,» Felix announced out of the blue, «I can easily hide our presence or hide our traces – I mean they can do that as well, but it would take them much more time.» Minho and Jisung shortly glanced at each other, before nodding at the Prince’s offer.

As soon as the others started following Jisung, Minho headed the opposite way, followed by you, Chris and Hyunjin; the young boy expertly walked you through the crowd who was constantly facing the opposite direction, busy gazing at the numerous lanterns lightning up the sky.

Once again, you were grateful about the fact that somewhere during your stroll, Chris’ hand tightly enveloped yours and didn’t let go.

«Uh, wanna hold mine?» Seungmin whispered to Hyunjin, holding his hand out as a joke, eventually gotten used to yours and Chris’ behaviour.

«Please, hold my hand so I can’t make them forcefully kiss.» Hyunjin hissed back, and the assassin let out a breathless laugh, as he placed both his hands against his nape.

Minho definitely wasn’t joking when he said that there was a somewhat secret path leading to Garmoth’s nest which was not used anymore. Turning right after the building containing a small pharmacy, you could see easy access to steep stairs carved into the side of the mountain; said steps, as well as being steep, had been naturally eroded by time, making them even smoother and more dangerous. Needless to say, you could easily figure out why no one was using that path in the first place.

«Say, you’re trying to kills us?» Seungmin questioned Minho, as your small group was forced to proceed in line, both hands gripping the rope attached to the side of the mountain as you descended with crossed steps.

«I wouldn’t dream of it,» Minho replied, «it would be useless, knowing that Hyunjin could easily save you.»

«Speaking of which, couldn’t you give us a lift?» Chris questioned, only for Hyunjin to scoff, clearly offended by the boy’s proposal.

«Did you take me for one of those domesticated gryphons?» he retorted, referring to the fact that some merchants transported their goods from a city to another through the sky.

It was as if you had been descending steps for hours, and still, your path looked never-ending.

«Are the others going to follow the same route?» Chris questioned, and Minho shook his head.

«They’ll take the other path, they will probably arrive before us.»

In the end, Minho’s words turned out to be the truth. Jisung’s group was patiently waiting for you while comfortably sitting in front of the entrance of a narrow tunnel, collectively raising their eyebrows at the fact that as soon as you touched solid ground, you, Seungmin and Chris knelt on it while mumbling random “thank you’s” towards it.

«I really don’t want to experience something like that anymore.» you spoke, both Seungmin and Chris quickly agreeing with you.

«Quit being dramatic, it wasn’t that bad.» Hyunjin simply shrugged, making Felix silently sneer.

The tunnel in which you had to pass was not particularly long; in fact, as soon as you entered, you could already see its end. A few drops of water occasionally fell from the rocky ceiling, echoing in the small puddles located in the uneven mixture of gravel and mud you were walking over.

Although you expected that Garmoth’s nest would look like a lot of things, you definitely did not expect that you wouldn’t have been able to see almost anything due to a dense fog obstructing your sight.

Minho and Jisung – followed by the others, stopped right in front a wide altar which seemed to be made out of marble, before placing the box containing the fire silk flowers on top of it.

«This is the fifth altar; we have to place the flowers, and then light the candles.» Minho explained, before tilting his head towards the sky; «you can’t see anything due to the fog, but Duvencrune is right there.

No one would be able to see this altar, due to its position.» following his gaze and wrapping your head around what you had learned about the city’s geography during the past days, you deduced he was right.

Absently nodding at his words, you did your best to ignore the fact that your heart was racing due to the anxiety you were feeling; with secure steps, you closed the small distance between you and the altar, waving your hand towards the lone candle on top of it in order to set it alight.

«Should we start?» you nervously questioned, reaching out to grab the box of flowers.

«I think it’s not wise for all of us to walk in there,» Hyunjin hurriedly spoke, as he saw how everyone was ready to follow you.

«Yeah, what if Garmoth thinks Hongjoong sent us?» Jeongin quickly added, and as much you hated to think about it, you had to admit to yourself that it was the truth.

«You can’t possibly think to go by yourself.» Chris questioned you with his voice laced with worry, breathing an exasperated sigh as you answered with a court nod.

«Probably we should calm down and think about a better solution?» Felix proposed, and you shook your head.

«But I am calm, really. Don’t I look calm?» you nervously spoke, trying to hide the tremor of your hands while holding the flower box a little tighter, «My decision to walk in there alone is a calm, rational and reasonable decision -»

«I’ll go with her,» Minho stated, interrupting your nervous blabbering and quickly claiming everyone’s attention, «we’re both children of Fire, we’ll be fine.»

As strange as it sounded, the fog seemed to dissipate the more you and Minho ventured towards the center of the nest.

«Is it usually this foggy down here?» you questioned him, scattering few flowers on one of the altar as Minho effortlessly lightened up the candle.

«It’s… not.» he truthfully answered, making you feel as if your throat just tightened out of nervousness.

If Garmoth’s nest looked incredibly vast from above, now that you were walking through it, it never seemed to end; the soil had not been cleared, and there were small areas where with wild grass was growing right next to clearly burnt soil. The four altars were very far from each other, and if from the top of the mountain – the city of Duvencrune, the spikes of rock clearly looked like a dragon’s claw, seen from below it was impossible to deduce it, as no matter how far you could look up, it was impossible to see their end.

Although the others were nervously trying to spot both you and Minho through the thick layer of fog, Hyunjin sat on the marble altar with crossed legs, his chin delicately placed on his palm, as he wore an amused expression.

Of course, his sight was definitely better than the sight of a human’s, reason why he had no trouble keeping an eye on the two of you.

Not to mention, he definitely had no trouble to notice how Garmoth was casually sitting on top a ledge erupting from one of the rocky spikes, watching over you and Minho with a pleased smile.

Hyunjin sighed, tempted to create a barrier wide enough to prevent everyone – beside your group, to notice the dragon that would have soon made his entrance, however, Garmoth seemed to already have thought of it; sharpening his gaze, Hyunjin noticed a faint but constant movement of air, as if it couldn’t move freely, and the bard smiled to himself.

Garmoth really seemed to already have thought about everything.

«That’s the last one.» Minho announced as he lightened up the fifth candle, and at once, the flowers caught fire as well. Instinctively, you took Minho’s hand out of fear, and he held yours just as tightly; although he never doubted Sulien’s words, he was still kind of doubtful about the simplicity that apparently was needed in order to summon a God.

«What now?» you nervously questioned as the two of you hesitantly started to make your way back towards the center of the nest. “Please, don’t say something like ‘we have to do a blood sacrifice’ or some other creepy things”, you mentally added.

«The notes don’t say anything else.» Minho hastily answered, but before he could even think about voicing any other thought, a sudden loud and menacing roar seemed to shake the sky, and the fog dissipated as if it was absorbed into the ground. Garmoth made its regal appearance; he flew over your heads in a predatory way before landing, the impact of his arrival against the ground was enough to make you and Minho jolt back from inertia.

«Lixie,» Hyunjin gently called out, and Chris shortly furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled at the unusual nickname suddenly used for his friend. Although Felix didn’t verbally answer him, he created a barrier out of vines and climbing plants, “shielding them from the Dragon’s sight” – as if earlier Garmoth didn’t eagerly wave at Hyunjin who blatantly ignored him, but leaving enough gaps so that they could still see you and Minho.

Garmoth was huge, and no matter how far you looked, you couldn’t see the end of his tail; in that moment, Hongjoong’s tales about meeting the Dragon came to your mind, and you silently cursed yourself for saying that he was “definitely exaggerating how big a dragon could be”. The dragon’s scales were faint red and definitely looked impossible to graze; his pointed claws dug deep furrows in the ground as he slowly approached you and Minho, who still kept holding hands as if your life depended of it. Garmoth’s eyes were wary, and his eye colour kept changing, making it seem like you were gazing to a burning fire.

With a loud gulp, Minho let go of your hand, slowly positioning himself behind you, as to use you as a shield if something went wrong; the thing was, you did just the same. Both you and Minho kept walking backwards, hiding one behind the other, as an amused dragon, who was clearly having the time of his life, slowly chased you.

«Why are my children cowering in fear?» Garmoth spoke, and although he didn’t actually voice any of his words, Minho’s shaky fingertips immediately intertwining with yours were a way to let you understand that the both of you were able to hear him through your thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, you quickly glanced at Minho, before looking at Garmoth once again: «We are incredibly honoured and utterly blessed to gaze up-»

«-at your magnificent… magnificence, oh Garmoth… the magnificent.» Minho somewhat finished your sentence, as the Dragon was now slowly pacing around the two of you with slow and menacing step.

Judging by the gentle sway of his tail, Garmoth was definitely having the time of his life by seeing you shaking like leaves in the wind – Hyunjin knew that.

«You flatter me, young flames. However,» Garmoth’s powerful voice roared again within your head, and you instinctively closed your eyes because Hongjoong never said it would have been this unpleasant, «all this unnecessary flattery makes me think you came here to steal something from me.»

«No!» you and Minho simultaneously exclaimed, «No, no, no! We - we wouldn’t!»

«I came here – we came here, to seek for advice, and to warn you! Hongjoong is trying to-» you tried explain the situation, but Garmoth’s sudden annoyed huff of smoke made you froze mid-sentence.

Could it be that you offended him somehow? “Maybe I shouldn’t have said we came to warn him, he’s a God… He probably knew,” you thought.

However, Garmoth rightfully interpreted your silence as being scared, and even though he loved humans and enjoyed meeting them in his dragon dorm every once a while, he realized that the matter you were to discuss was too important for you to face it while being that scared.

The Dragon lifted his face to the sky, and another powerful roar echoed within the nest; you and Minho instinctively shrieked, your hands melting together at this point – consider your hold on each other, as you instinctively closed your eyes in fear.

Garmoth’s body seemed to vanish in a whirlwind of fire, leaving some scattered dust on the soil, and as you and Minho opened your eyes once again, you were faced with the same fog you had seen right before lightening up the altars.

«So, that was it?» you weakly questioned, «we didn’t accomplish anything?» tears of frustration were gathering at the corner of your eyes, but before Minho could say something to console you, Garmoth’s voice spoke from behind you.

«Don’t be that sad! We have a lot to talk about, and very little time to do it.» at once, both you and Minho snapped your head behind yourself as quickly as you could, surprised at the unfamiliar man now looking at you with a proud and yet amused smile. «It’s still me, I figured you would feel less threatened about my human form!» Garmoth gave the both of you a dazzling smile, before reaching out in order to loop his arms around your neck; you stood at his right side, while Minho on his left. It was probably a secret thought that the both of you shared, but you were glad about the fact that the Dragon’s voice wasn’t echoing through your head anymore.

At that point, you weren’t sure that what was happening was real; a man, who claimed to be Garmoth and who had insanely handsome features, was patiently listening to everything you knew about Hongjoong and his corruption.

Of course, you definitely couldn’t doubt about his words, since his looks clearly gave away the fact that he was not human. Everything from his bright red eyes – which still kept burning as a lively flame, to the warmth spreaded from his honey coloured skin, to the small horns erupting from the sides of his forehead told you that he was – in fact, the God of Fire himself.

«His behaviour definitely must be Kzarka’s fault.» Garmoth, concluded, after few long minutes of silence.

«The God of Corruption?» Minho questioned, «Wasn’t he sealed away?»

«By my heel, he still is!» Garmoth exclaimed, his authoritative and powerful voice roaring even in his human form. «However, me and the Goddess of Air deduced that fragments of his aura are scattered in this world, and sadly Hongjoong found not just one, but two of them.»

«Is it that bad?» Minho curiously questioned him, as you stood there, unable to voice any of your question because you were too afraid of the answer.

«It is.» Garmoth simply nodded, «If a human were to find one fragment of his soul, he would die on the spot; when I brought him back to life, I gave Hongjoong part of my power, making him even stronger than any average children of Nature… That’s probably why he managed to create his Kingdom of puppets. Kzarka must have sealed away his soul, but not his powers.»

«How can I help him? There has to be a way for me to save him! Not only him, but Seonghwa, Wooyoung and -»

«You shouldn’t linger where there is no hope, young flame.» Garmoth interrupted your sentence, his gentle and soothing voice making the words die in your throat.

«What do you mean?» again, tears gathered at the corner of your eyes, and the Dragon easily collected them on the tip of his fingertips as he brushed your cheekbones almost in an affectionate manner.

«Anything Kzarka touches and corrupts is doomed to wither; it pains me to tell you but, all is left about your family is nothing but empty shells.» it was as if someone had just slapped you with a bucket of ice; as Garmoth noticed that both you and Minho seemed to refuse to speak, he went on. «I am sure someone is way better than me at singing old tales,» he chuckled to himself as he glanced towards where Hyunjin and the others were safely hidden, «but, when we faced Kzarka, many years ago, the cost to defeat him had been great – even unimaginable for someone as young and small as the two of you. We spent time, love and dedication to create humanity, just for a single God to corrupt half of it, and even though Kzarka managed to destroy almost every God that roamed this world, the four who survived are - we’re still facing the consequences of his powers after centuries - no, probably much more than that.»

«Your task is very simple, however, I am sure it would create further turmoil within your soul.» Garmoth took a confident step in front of the two of you, turning around to face you once again; he faintly outstretched the palm of his hand, and closed it around what seemed to be one of his own scales. Fire started erupting from his hand following a precise shape, and after few seconds, a sword materialized from the burning fire.

Garmoth handed it over to you, «Use this to stab Hongjoong. If you’re lucky, you’ll see him one last time, before he’ll be consumed by his own power – burning from flames to dust, returning to me and therefore facing my judgement.»

As if someone else was moving your body instead of your own will, you emotionlessly reached out to grab at the helm and the sheath of the sword, clutching it against your chest. Chris’ words about his duty being to get rid of Seonghwa rather gave you a hint about what Garmoth would have told you to do, but still, you couldn’t believe it.

Most importantly, would you be able to do it?

«I am afraid our time is up, young flames.» Garmoth smiled, ruffling Minho’s hair in an affectionate manner, «I saw few humans do it to their young kiddos, it’s not that bad indeed!» he chuckled to himself. «I can’t really tell you anything about your future, but – well, Minho, take care of your sister for me as well; and believe me, you’re going to love your found family.» Garmoth told him, tilting his head towards you as to signal that of course, you had just been appointed as Minho’s relative.

«And you - tell me, how are things with the Prince?» Garmoth questioned, and as if you had been woken up from a strange dream, you furrowed your eyebrows just to stare back at him quizzically, «Your soulmate, of course!» Garmoth added with his signature dazzling smile.

Minho’s wide eyes, matching your incredulity locked with yours.

Felix was your soulmate?

«Thinking about it, I’m sure you’ll be fine. He’s a considerate man – all children of Water are.» he added, and if possible, you were sure that both yours and Minho’s eyes widened even more.

If the Prince was your soulmate, but the Prince was a son of Water, it could only mean that -

«Chris is your soulmate?!» Minho questioned, utterly uncredulous, and you simply stared back at him with your eyes as wide as the moon.

«Yeah, I believe that’s his name for this life.» the Dragon replied with furrowed eyebrows, not understanding why the two of you could be so shocked about the Prince being a son of Water; after all, Karanda had told him that you were indeed travelling together!

Far from where you and Minho stood, however, Hyunjin definitely couldn’t believe his ears; Garmoth really walked in the place revealing things he definitely shouldn’t have revealed.

«Fool of a Dragon.» he spat under his breath, hiding his face into his hands.

After you and Minho bid farewell to Garmoth, and he disappeared in a sudden flash of burning flames, Minho gently took a hold of your hand, leading the two of you towards the others once again.

Despite the fact that you were wordlessly following Minho as if you were in a trance while holding against your chest the enchanted sword, despite the fact that as soon as your friends spotted you, they ran towards the two of you while asking a lot of questions, the only thing you found yourself able to do was to walk towards Chris.

Wordlessly and without making eye contact, you placed your head in the crook of his neck, and he immediately held you, quietly asking what happened, worried about the fact that you had started crying; Chris locked his eyes with Minho, unable to decipher his gaze.

«We’ll explain everything as soon as we’ll be far enough from here; right now we have to flee.» Although everyone was curious about what could have happened to make you react like that, they knew that Minho was right, and the most difficult part of the plan was about to start.

«Do you want to ride with me?» Chris quietly questioned you as he reluctantly let go of you, and you nodded at him; although you just found out that Chris had been lying about his identity, you suspected there was a valid reason for it.

Moreover, most importantly, you didn’t want to be alone.

Few hours later, a more than reassuring distance was between your group and the city of Duvencrune, and as you were camping right under a blanket of stars, you and Minho explained what Garmoth told you – without mentioning about the part where Chris was your soulmate.

Actually, if you were to be honest, Minho explained to the others what happened during your meeting, because since you left the nest, you barely spoke.

«You don’t seem surprised to hear any of that, could it be that you already knew?» Felix quietly questioned Hyunjin, after he made sure that no one else could hear them; Hyunjin simply nodded, his heart tightening at the sight of you politely refusing to eat yet again.

«Don’t meddle yourself with humans affairs too much, for you are not one of them.» Karanda had clearly told him back then, and he was a fool for ignoring her suggestion so blatantly.

«I should have known better.» he melodramatically sighed loudly, ignoring Felix’s questioning gaze; Hyunjin started walking towards you, his hands confidently placed behind his nape.

«Shoo, away from my princess.» he joked, quickly moving his hands to ironically signalling Changbin to move out the way; he took the bowl the man was previously holding before sitting in front of you.

«You have two options, either you eat this by yourself, or I’ll feed you myself,» he heard Chris say, and he forcefully hid an amused smile; he had never seen the Prince trying to make you do anything against your will until now.

Let’s just say that, considered the kind of day you just had, and the fact that it was late night and the last time you ate was probably earlier that morning, he kind of approved Chris trying to make you eat something; for sure, no one among them wanted to see you collapse out of exhaustion.

«I second that!» Hyunjin intervened, nodding at Chris’ thankful gaze, «but if I have to feed you, I’ll make the same stupid noises people have to do while feeding a baby.»

Although Hyunjin’s incredibly serious gaze met your emotionless one, you managed to scoff out of incredulity.

«How can you wait for me to finish eating - aren’t you usually the most famished among all of us?» you weakly questioned back.

However, the perspective of Hyunjin mimicking a horse’s noise as he brought the spoon from the bowl to your mouth definitely did not seem appealing, reason why you reached out, hesitantly taking a hold of the bowl full of stew.

«You seemed to like it last time, I thought it could… cheer you up.» Jeongin hesitantly spoke from the other side of the fireplace, and you found yourself smiling at him.

«So, what’s the plan?» Seungmin questioned the following day.

«Although it’s clear where we have to go, I think we should properly prepare ourselves,» Felix reasonably proposed, «there are nine of us – and Jisung and Minho can’t fight, we definitely can’t barge into the Cursed Kingdom expecting to succeed.» At Felix’s words, Seungmin’s and Jeongin’s ears perked up; immediately, their attention was locked on both Minho and Jisung.

Needless to say, if they already swore that their hostility towards you had disappeared, now it was undeniable; their attention completely shifted on teaching both Minho and Jisung how to properly fight, because «What do you mean that at Duvencrune, people are raised to devote themselves to Garmoth? Oh, you mean you were raised to die young?»

That said, Changbin suggested to not move until the following morning; «It’s a shielded place, no one would see us anyway; as long as we start moving at dawn’s light, we’ll be okay.» he said, and once again, being he the most expert when it came to travelling, you followed his lead.

Although you spent the day mostly laying on the grass and doing absolutely nothing, you were glad about the fact that Chris decided to do the same thing.

«Can I stay with you, or do you want to be alone?» he had questioned, crouching down next to you, and you answered that of course, you didn’t want to be alone.

As the others spend the unexpected day off someone training and someone rearranging the provisions, Chris had patiently sat next to you, listening as you mindlessly emptied the contents of your heart.

Once again, you carefully avoided to mention about the fact that you and him were soulmates and most importantly, you avoided to mention about the fact that – somewhere along your endless talk, your fingers naturally intertwined.

«I know what Garmoth said, I will never have my father and the others back, but… a tiny part of me believes I can.» you said, aware that you probably sounded like an idiot. However, Chris hummed, gently playing with your fingers.

«I don’t think you sound like an idiot,» he shrugged, and for a second you questioned whether you spoke out loud, «they are people you love, it’s only fair for you to want to save them. However… Probably, that’s the best solution, not only for – well, literally the whole known land since we’re constantly on the verge of war, but for them as well?»

Chris noticed that you were glancing at him with a puzzled expression, and so he explained himself; «I am not you, therefore, I will never know the full story like you do, but, when we met Wooyoung, he said that your mother had suffered from an illness after she came in contact with one of the stones. And, if I heard Minho correctly, Garmoth said that their soul is corrupted, or most definitely sealed away. Could it be that maybe, Hongjoong and the others have been suffering for years?»

In the moment your gaze locked with Chris’ mismatched eyes, you definitely felt like an idiot. The fact that they all suffered was undeniable; Hongjoong lost not only his wife – his soulmate, but his own daughter as well.

Wooyoung’s face as he told you that San has lost himself to darkness – therefore forgetting everything about the long years they have been married, was something you definitely could not forget, as well. Each one of your loved ones had lost something that they loved – whether it was a person or just their passion towards their work or hobbies, and still, you felt in the rightful to want to bring them back to you.

Especially, after Wooyoung had explicitly told you that everyone of them had willingly decided to be corrupted in your place, just to give you enough time to grow up and become fully independent. Suddenly, the never-ending training sessions you had to stand for years finally made sense, now that you were looking at your past from another perspective.

“I’m really lucky you’re my soulmate,” you secretly thought, hoping that one day, you would have been able to speak those words as well.

«Princess, can we talk to you?» Minho hesitantly spoke as Jisung was standing next to him, shyly adverting his gaze, as no one really wanted to interrupt the small bubble you and Chris seemed to be trapped in.

Wanting for the three of you to be alone, Minho and Jisung walked to the other side of the small camp, their backs turned towards the others so that no one could see what they were about to do.

«Me and Jisung came to an agreement,» Minho announced, handing your dagger towards you, «we’re returning it.»

«You’re… leaving? But we’re far from any village, at least let us travel together until-»

«Let me explain, please,» Minho quickly added, his voice much more softer than it was the day you first met him, and you noticed how Jisung had lifted his hands as well, signalling you to let his brother explain, «we didn’t know about who you were and the whole… thing you have to face. We simply saw your group as a free ride to leave Duvencrune, however – on our part, things have changed. We are returning the dagger because – if you allow us, we plan to help you and to stay by your side because we’re willing to, not because we’re bound by a trade.»

«Ah,» you sighed, as once again you felt tears gathering at the corner of your eyes; instinctively, you reached out to hug the both of them, mumbling a soft, «I don’t usually cry that much, you just took me by surprise.»

Minho laughed, but most importantly, as faintly as a whisper carried by the wind, you thought you heard Jisung mumble an almost inaudible: «It’s okay.»

Later that night, Felix was the first to keep watch, silently guarding the camp as you and the others were fast asleep.

«You look a little bit too relaxed, you already forgot about our task?» Hyunjin questioned, as he sat next to Felix.

«Of course I didn’t! We’re going to walk straight into Hongjoong’s trap as if it’s not even there.» Felix answered faking enthusiasm, making the bard roll his eyes at him. «Although I’m trying to have faith in them, I can’t help to be worried.» the son of Earth reluctantly admitted, and the bard agreed with him.

«The thought of something happening to Chris once again is enough to give me collywobbles.» Felix added, his eyes unfocused.

«The what?» Hyunjin questioned, and Felix sighed in an exasperated way.

«I’m scared!!» he whisper-yelled, emphasizing the concept.

“Let their fate do its course”, but what could it mean? Moreover, why did Hyunjin had the feeling that Karanda was hiding something from him?

Felix was silent once again, and he didn’t want to disturb him; for a moment, he wondered why Offin decided to burden a mortal boy with such a request.

“Not like I need assistance,” Hyunjin thought, “unless something else came up.”

Few days had passed since you met Garmoth, and you felt strangely tense; although you didn’t want to mention about your feelings to the others because you didn’t want to burden them with your emotions, you settled for being more wary towards your surroundings.

Felix and Changbin were once again leading the group towards a village – which was at least four more days of uncomfortable travel, and you couldn’t wait to sleep on a real bed once more.

Although the vegetation was thick once again, and consequently the dry and arid climate of Duvencrune was definitely behind you, you were still roaming through the mountains – even if of a lower altitude.

Roaming through the mountains meant that you had to think twice about the direction you were to take because, as Changbin repeated quite often, “damn cliffs are damn everywhere on this damn land”. However, no one expected both Felix to take the wrong path and – most importantly, Yunho to be there.

«Well well, that’s unexpected,» Yunho’s attention was claimed by the sound of the horses’ hooves. He was expecting to see some travellers who got lost, but he was rather surprised to find you of all people among them, «tired of your stupid game of cat and mouse?» he questioned with a smug grin. Yunho’s eyes turned completely black, he snapped his fingers, making a small group of at least ten soldiers seemed to appear out of darkness itself.

“I’m sure that he couldn’t do this last time I saw him, what in the world happened?” you thought, cowering in fear and glad about the fact that Changbin instinctively placed his horse between the two of you in an attempt to shield you.

«Quit it, Yunho.» Changbin spoke; however, as Yunho’s eyes landed on his long-time friend, there was no sign of recognition in them. Yunho furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, almost about to question to Changbin why he was daring referring to him so confidentially.

«I feel generous today,» Yunho’s authoritative voice spoke, silently dismissing Changbin’s topic, «I’ll let you dismount from your horses before throwing you down this cliff.»

«Leave the horses problem to me.» Felix quickly said, making you dismount from your rides at once; hiding someone’s presence was something common among children of Earth, you’ve seen Jongho creating paths out of nowhere plenty of times to know that Felix was probably about to do the same.

Although you were certain that the horses were going to be fine, you definitely couldn’t say the same about you.

«I want the girl alive, kill everyone else.» Yunho’s authoritative tone ordered as he wore a stoic and blank expression; as if they had just been woken up from a dream, the soldiers – who have been completely unmoving until then, charged towards your direction. It was obvious that you were outnumbered, and it was obvious that you couldn’t win.

Felix was momentarily nowhere to be seen, and therefore, out of instinct you moved towards Chris’ left side, as the boy was busy covering Minho’s back as well.

«What if we flee?» Changbin questioned with a scream, making sure you could hear him above the loud clashes of the swords. In the same moment, next to you, Chris managed to disarm one of Yunho’s soldiers with a quick and swift movement of his sword, just to grab at the enemy’s throat; water circled his neck, and as you saw him falling to the floor painfully coughing even more water, you realized you didn’t want to know what kind of fighting techniques were used at Iliya’s Island.

«It would be useless,» Seungmin, screamed back, «they won’t die unless they’ve fulfilled the order they received!» Exactly as your friend said, Yunho’s soldier sat back on the ground, slowly getting up after recovering his sword, ready to charge at him once again.

«That’s not possible!» Chris’ incredulous voice as he dodged yet another attack caught your attention, but you already knew what he was referring to. There was a black cloud of constantly moving black smoke around said soldier’s throat, and you didn’t have to glance at Yunho to confirm your suspicions. As easily as that, Yunho neutralized Chris’ spell.

The only spells who seemed to work longer than the others were Hyunjin’s; he was effortlessly and continuously neutralizing your enemies for a little longer than anyone else managed to. However, at this rate, it was impossible for anyone to take a break from continuously fighting in order to defend yourself.

It was definitely Yunho’s strategy; make you tired enough so that he could snatch you away without wasting too much of his energy. Hyunjin was the only one continuously attacking, thanks to his ability to move as quick as the wind; the rest of you were collaborating as best as you could, trying to deliver powerful spells only if someone else was parrying the opponent’s attack.

«It’s getting boring in here.» Yunho exclaimed, startling you judging from how close he got in the blink of an eye; he forcefully gripped your shoulder, yanking you towards the direction of the cliff.

«Let’s see if you were worth the wait.» Yunho’s voice spat, and once again, as your eyes locked, there was no sign of recognition in his eyes; as if the girl he had loved like his own daughter was now a complete stranger to him. «Since it’s your fault it took me so long to corrupt these souls, can you believe?» as his voice gradually got louder and – if possibly, angrier, he twirled the hilt of the sword on the back of his hand, only to grab it firmly once again and attack harshly towards the ground.

Although Yunho couldn’t remember, he was the one who - many years ago, had insisted that you constantly worked on having quick reflexes; it’s probably thanks to these lessons that his swords didn’t sink into your thigh.

«All is left about your family is nothing but empty shells,» Garmoth had said, and the words Yunho just spoke were the confirmation you needed.

Although one of the men you loved the most in the world was right in front of you, there was no trace of his kind and understanding soul any longer.

The thought of your family suffering only for you to be safe, for some reason, fuelled you with unexplainable anger; you quickly got on your feet, wielding the sword Garmoth’s created for you and launched forward.

«What’s that toy?» Yunho chuckled, easily parrying every one of your attacks; the fact that he wasn’t using his powers was a clear signal that he was playing with you, «Did the Dragon and his wench thought a human could kill me?» he laughed, kicking you in the stomach with enough force to make you fall on the ground once again. Yunho was towering over you, looking at you as if you were an annoying nuisance – you definitely were in his eyes, and as he approached your retreating form, he expertly twirled his sword in his hand.

«Watch out!» an unfamiliar rough voice shouted, and if only you were in such a situation, you would have been incredibly happy about the fact that Jisung had spoken out loud for the first time – of course, although you’d preferred for it to be a more peaceful moment.

As you dragged yourself back a little more, your left hand met the void; quickly glancing back, you realized with pure horror that not only you were literally at the edge of the cliff, but that Yunho was about to attack you once more and the only way to avoid it was to take the leap.

He drove his sword towards you once again, however, before you realized, a familiar weight crashed against yours, and you noticed too late that Chris’ arm had been stabbed by Yunho’s sword.

«No!» you exclaimed, as Yunho’s wicked laughter filled your ears; you pushed Chris’ back against your chest, and he clutched at the painful fresh wound. There was a faint aura of black smoke erupting from your soulmate’s skin, and you realized with horror that Yunho’s sword must have been either poisoned or enchanted.

«That alchemist is really something.» Yunho nodded to himself approvingly, as to praise Yeosang’s skill because - of course, no one else but him could have come up with something like that.

«Thinking about it, I changed my mind, you’ll die here.» Yunho’s wicked grin was back on his lips, as he closed his right hand in a tight fist; a small cloud of menacing darkness was erupting from it. «Hongjoong sends his regards.» he spat with an ironic tone, before the land under yours and Chris’ feet crumbled.

Before you realized what was happening, you and Chris were falling off the cliff at dangerous speed; although there was a river right underneath it, you sincerely doubted it was deep enough not to hurt the both of you. Moreover, the fall was dangerously high, meaning that you and your soulmate were most definitely doomed.

Suddenly, you felt Chris move his left arm right behind your waist, quickly yanking you against his chest. Ignoring the pain he was feeling, Chris used his powers, both eyes turning blue as the river quickly rose from its bed towards your direction, just to welcome you as a soft and inconsistent mattress, gently accompanying your fall and making you safely land on the river bank.

«I’ll leave the rest to you now.» Chris roughly panted, groaning in pain as he tried to do his best not to lose his senses.

Back on the cliff, Yunho and his soldiers had vanished in a cloud of black smoke in the same moment they saw you and Chris fall off the cliff.

«We have to find a way down, and quickly!» Minho urged, getting as close as the cliff as he could.

«It’s pretty high from here, they could be-»

«Seungmin, finish that sentence and I will personally cut your tongue.» Changbin’s rough and distressed voice spoke, as he tried to focus enough to summon his power just to see things from the river’s perspective.

However, as strange as it was, he could not.

«I can’t see… anything?» he opened his eyes, quizzically looking at Hyunjin and Felix. As the two of them tried to do the same, Changbin’s words were sadly confirmed.

Hyunjin had enchanted your earring so that he could be able to find you anywhere and everywhere, so why couldn’t he?

“Let their fate do its course.” Karanda had said, but was this what she meant?

Most importantly, what had he and Felix done to their friends?

Given the fact that a cloak of stars was draped over the sky, you admitted to yourself that you had completely lost track of time. Despite his attempts not to faint, Chris effectively lost his senses as soon as the two of you touched the wet soil of the riverbank, leaving you the task to both look for a sheltered place and somehow dragging him there.

Unexpectedly, you managed to find a recess, not deep enough to be considered a cave, but large and deep enough to allow you to hide inside undetected. Considering the fact that Chris was in a constant state where he kept fainting and gaining consciousness and you didn’t know whether Yunho was still looking for you, you decided that it was enough of a shelter for the night.

Carefully, you helped Chris sat against the sturdy wall of the recess, immediately creating a small fireplace right next to him; trying to make as little noise as you could, you took off both his fur cloak and yours instantly drying them with your powers, just to cover your soulmate’s shaking form.

However, Chris’ teeth didn’t stop clattering, and your worry only increased; you quickly moved to sit next to him, sneaking under a small fraction of his makeshift blanket so that your bodies were effectively touching, so that you could share your natural body heat with him.

Instinctively, Chris moved, leaning against your warmth barely above a whisper, he faintly mumbled your name, before leaning his against your shoulder; not wanting for him to move, you slowly moved your arm so that you could link yours with his, hugging it close to your chest.

Although he warmed up pretty quickly after you sat next to him, Chris’ pained whimpers were enough for you to not to manage to sleep; during the night, you tried to use healing magic on his wound, just to notice that it didn’t work in the least. The wound looked painful, but not extremely deep; despite the fact that there wasn’t any more black smoke erupting from it, the flash around said wound was concerning shades of a purplish colour.

Rubbing your eyes with distressed movement as if to get rid of your tiredness, you kept trying to heal him, aware that - if Chris was like that, it was completely your fault.

Under the same blanket of stars, your friends had collapsed due to exhaustion, as they had spent what remained of the day trying to find you.

«Guide me to her,» Hyunjin faintly mumbled to the wind, his eyes turning grey; however, never ending seconds passed, only for the bard to realize that Karanda herself was probably preventing him to find you. Hyunjin tightly clenched his fist, and turned his head towards Felix, who was once again keeping watch.

«If they wake up, cover for me.» the bard said, and before his friend could say anything else, he vanished in a gust of wind.

«You are shielding my sight.» Hyunjin advanced with secure steps through the Harpies’ Ridge. It wasn’t clear to him why he was so worked up about the issue; but he dismissed his thoughts with the shallow thought that he was just trying to follow her orders.

«And here I thought you came back because you missed your sisters.» Karanda addressed him, as always quietly sitting on her throne.

Hyunjin would have never thought that the day where he could be so angry towards his Queen would come, and yet, there he was.

«You’re shielding my sight, Karanda. I’ve been by your side for enough years for you to know that I hate when you do it.»

The Goddess, however, shook her head, completely aware about why the harpy was behaving like that, «It’s not my fault this time, but Kzarka’s.» meeting Hyunjin’s silence, she explained further, «I believe part of his corrupted power is dangerously close to her.»

Hyunjin’s heart felt a little less restless; although he was happy Karanda didn’t betray him, he was still worried about his friends. The bard furrowed his eyebrows, could it be that while they were fighting, Yunho managed to hurt one of them? No one saw what happened, since the cursed soldiers were keeping them busy enough to prevent it.

«They are alive, Hyunjin. Their souls haven’t returned to the Gods.» she added, and the bard nodded at her, although he didn’t manage to hide his concern.

At dawn’s first light, you felt a gentle hold around your wrist; snapping your head up, you realized with horror that somewhere along your attempts to heal Chris, you fell asleep. As you sat between his bent legs, your head had naturally fell on the crook of his neck, as apparently, your hands remained on his chest; you didn’t know if you felt more sore due to the uncomfortable position you slept in or if you felt more embarrassed about it.

However, Chris was looking at you, his eyes partially unfocused, before quietly glancing around just to take in your surroundings.

«How do you feel?» you cautiously asked, your heart feeling heavy as you noticed that he was still flinching and whimpering due to the pain he was feeling, but he was doing his best in trying to hide it from you. Chris didn’t trust his voice to verbally answer, and therefore he simply nodded, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

«I’m sorry,» you admitted as you felt your eyes sting from the tears threatening to fall, «it’s my fault, I’m sorry.» you repeated, lowering your head so that you were staring at your lap.

«Cut the bullshit, it’s not your fault.» Chris’ husky and soft voice broke the silence, and he gently lifted your chin by placing his index finger under it, «I got hurt because I wanted to protect you, and it’s on me, not you.» you shook your head weakly, and he weakly scoffed.

Somewhere between your small talk, his hand slid from your wrist to your hand, intertwining your fingers in a gesture that despite everything, managed to comfort you.

Although he admitted that he wanted to protect you, you still wondered why; the feeling that he could return your feelings with the same intensity was a small yet bright hope in your heart, and you found yourself hesitantly tracing the scar on his face with trembling fingertips and a gentle touch.

Chris’ mismatched eyes were locked on you, and the kindness and affection that they showed were enough for you to realize that you didn’t want to lose him.

It was as if time stopped, just for you to inch closer to each other; as your lips met halfway, you wondered who had been the first one to lean in. Chris’ lips were gently and yet passionate against yours, just like his whole personality. He weakly lifted his left hand just to caress your cheek, moving your head just enough to deepen the kiss and you let him - you would have let him do so much more, but Chris sudden pained his broke the small bubble the both of you had lived in for few second.

Chris leaned his head in the crook of your neck, whimpering and shivering in pain, leaving you sitting between his legs and staring at the rocky wall; your heart was hammering in your chest, and you knew your soulmate could hear it loud and clear.

«Why did you kiss me?» you weakly questioned, unsure about the fact that your voice even came out in the first place.

«I’m sorry, sweetheart,» you heard him fatiguely speak, «I always show up too late when it’s time to save you.» he answered.

As you were about to retort, you noticed that your soulmate leaned his head back once again, his face shortly contorting in pain; taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the fact that you were effectively crying, you decided not to speak, repeating your ministration in trying to heal him.

«They’re here!» you heard Seungmin’s voice shout, and as you snapped your head to your right, you felt as if you have woken up from a nightmare.

It must have been somewhere around the middle of the afternoon; and you were still at Chris’ side, who had now completely lost his senses. Although his heart was beating and he was breathing weakly, he had passed out few hours after you kissed, and still hadn’t woken up.

«Seungmin!» you weakly called out, relief washing over you as one by one, the others ran to where he was standing.

«You’re alive, I was about to have a heart-attack» Changbin mumbled as he hugged you as tight as he could; however, despite the relief about the group being reunited, you still had a big problem to solve.

«What’s wrong with him?» Felix hurriedly ran to Chris’ side, kneeling next to his unconscious form and wiping few strands of black hair away from his forehead.

«Yunho stabbed his shoulder, I – I can’t heal him.» you nervously explained, not noticing how Hyunjin’s head snapped towards you, as he listened to your words with wide and incredulous eyes.

When Karanda hypothesized that part of Kzarka’s corrupted power was dangerously near you, he definitely didn’t consider the eventuality of Chris being hurt.

«Troublesome child of Water,» he faintly mumbled, as he closed the distance between him and your soulmate with quick steps. Hyunjin leaned in, examining Chris’ wound as the boy was still looking peacefully asleep; the bard’s fingertips faintly hovered over the boy’s injury, and his eyebrows furrowed.

Hyunjin clenched his jaw, the memories of many of friends succumbing to darkness due to the same wound immediately resurfacing; he had seen it happen countless times in the past, but still, he had hoped to never witness something like that again.

The God of Corruption’s aura was easily perceptible from Chris’ shoulder, and Hyunjin knew that it was just a matter of time for your soulmate to wake up as another one of Kzarka’s puppets.

The bard didn’t need to make up his mind in order to decide to save him: although Karanda had told him not to meddle with humans, he had realized long ago that he had blatantly disobeyed her order.

Hyunjin faintly smiled, thinking about the paradox of his situation: the harpy who always refused to reincarnate into a human because of her hatred towards the species was now trying so desperately to save the friends she made as she reincarnated into a human boy.

«Stay back, all of you.» Hyunjin spoke, and his sudden and unusual authoritative tone made you immediately comply; Felix stood up as well, walking to your side. «Let’s see if I remember how it’s done.» the bard mumbled to himself, as he placed the palm of his hand above Chris’ wound. Hyunjin’s eyes flashed a dark shade of grey, action which made you furrow your eyebrows; you were taught that healing or basic magic made your eyes turn golden, so why did he use his elemental magic to heal?

«Healing spells don’t work.» you faintly spoke; however, the words died in your throat as soon as Hyunjin began to speak; his words were incomprehensible, almost if he was talking an ancient and forgotten language.

As Hyunjin kept reciting his spell, a faint white glow seemed to be emitted from his body, and everyone noticed as well how his eyes gradually started to change colour: if his elemental magic made his eyes look like the darkest of clouds, now, his orbs were almost white.

Again, Hyunjin kept talking and Chris’s face started to contort in pain; there were few droplets of sweat on the bard’s forehead, and despite his hand was trembling every now and then, he refused to stop.

Suddenly, looking at Hyunjin, you seemed to recall one of Seonghwa’s tales about your mother: it lasted probably a fraction of a second, but at some point, you were sure you could see pure white feathers erupting from Hyunjin’s forearms, and in that moment you realized, the bard must have been blessed by the Goddess of Air herself.

For few seconds, everyone was so speechless about what happened, that no one noticed that Chris’ wound had completely been healed.

«After all this time, I’m still the best healer around.» Hyunjin vainly announced as he stood up once again, brushing the dust off his knees. However, no one dared to say anything.

«Oh, come on.» he sighed, «you’re not even going to say “thank you?”»

Later that day, it was safe to say that no one on the way to the next village spoke about what happened; in fact, for hours, no one dared to utter a word.

Whether you were tired or you were still astonishingly processing what Hyunjin had done few hours earlier, everyone had their different reason.

«Now that I think about it, I forgot my lyre in one of the bags of Felix’s horse,» Hyunjin said, wrapping both his hands around your right one, «Could you get it for me?» you furrowed your eyebrows, glancing at Changbin who simply shrugged.

«Can’t you materialize it?» Jeongin asked curiously, and you glanced at the younger boy, consequentially missing how Hyunjin glared daggers towards him.

«I’m still recovering from healing Chris.» the bard lied, but you nodded at him, not asking for further explanations.

«I’ll see you at the inn, then.» you mumbled nervously, glancing towards Minho, who was effortlessly carrying a still unconscious Chris on his back.

As soon as you were out of sight, Hyunjin’s expression darkened, suddenly looking exhausted.

«I know you are still shocked, but I mean no harm. However, we are gathered here today to fight our common enemy.» he spoke, making Felix scoff while hiding a smile; after all, riding a horse together meant that they had plenty of time to gossip.

«Enemy?» Minho questioned.

«Another one?» Seungmin echoed.

«Damn, you really are that naive…» Changbin joked, but Hyunjin quickly silenced the group while raising his index finger.

«I definitely haven’t been sent here to play the God of Love, but those two are literally making me go crazy.» Hyunjin glanced at Chris – who was about to wake up, and hoped that he wouldn’t hear any part of this conversation.

«He’s saying,» Felix chimed in, «we need a valid excuse for them to solve whatever they have going on.»

«Brainstorming, that’s cool.» Changbin mumbled.

«We could get them drunk-» Seungmin offered, just to be harshly silenced by Hyunjin.

«They’ll forget and we’re gonna have the same problem, next one.»

«We could-»

«Jeongin, you’re a child, you shouldn’t even been listening to this conversation.» Hyunjin interrupted him, pressing his thumb and index finger against the bridge of his nose.

«We could room together and make them do the same.» Jisung timidly spoke, still not used to speak in front of someone who wasn’t Minho; Hyunjin’s eyes, however, seemed to sparkle with interest.

«He’s right,» Minho chimed in, «let’s pay the inn-keeper more just to make them believe there aren’t more room available.»

Felix and Hyunjin glanced at each other, and as easily as that, they decided that Jisung and Minho would share a room, making it impossible for either you or Chris to want to switch; Seungmin, Jeongin and Changbin would share another one, using the excuse to “keep an eye on them”.

«As for us, she might suggest to switch rooms, but Chris is- well, kinda jealous of Hyunjin, so he would never agree.» Felix explained.

Therefore, that’s basically how, once you arrived at the inn while holding Hyunjin’s lyre, Jisung announced you about your roommate’s condition.

Chris had woken up, and he was now sitting on the bed that the two of you were supposed to sleep on.

However, your soulmate wasn’t alone, because apparently, everyone else had decided to intrude your shared room; some were sitting on the bed, some on the floor, because Changbin had purposely saved one of the chairs for you to sit on.

Not to mention, each of them had brought few plates full of food as well, meaning that it was just like when you were sitting in Minho’s kitchen, but the feelings each one of you held were completely different from then.

«Why don’t we face the elephant in the room?» Seungmin suggested, noticing how everyone was suddenly looking nervous.

«And that should be me?» Hyunjin questioned, chewing on his food.

«Yeah, of course,» Seungmin eagerly nodded, «Chris is okay, the least you could do is to tell us what happened.» Instinctively, you glanced at Chris, who simply gave you a small smile before adverting his gaze.

«Long story short, I am a spy from Karanda.» Hyunjin announced; enjoying how everyone’s eyes widened dramatically wide – except for Felix’s.

Although the bard never expected for the day where the told the truth about his mission to come, he also never expected him to feel relieved after doing it. Little by little, he explained everything: Karanda’s worries, his mission and – of course, the fact that he had to do everything as a human boy.

Eventually, everyone had their fair share of doubts regarding Hyunjin’s identity, but no one ever brought up the topic; however, you had to admit that it was both funny and heart-warming that everyone was perfectly okay with it.

«A Goddess sent someone to watch over the Princess, that’s something I would never have dreamed of.» Changbin chuckled to himself, adding that he couldn’t wait to get back home in order to tell Lea about it.

«You’re technically a woman?» Jeongin was the first one to speak, his eyes wide in disbelief, Hyunjin nodded briefly, and the assassin’s questions seemed to bloom on the tip of his tongue, «That’s cool! Can you effectively transform?»

«Sadly, I can’t go back being an harpy,» Hyunjin sighed, «unless Karanda undoes her spell, I will live my human life looking like this.»

«At least, you’re good looking.» Seungmin unexpectedly commented next to you, and for a second, your hand froze in mid air as you were about to take a sip from your chalice; Minho’s gentle kick against your feet and your accomplice smile, however, misleaded you into thinking that he heard Seungmin’s words as well.

As the child of Fire’s eyes mischievously landed on Chris, you realized what he was about to do, and your heart picked up pace.

«Now that you’re okay, something interesting happened at Garmoth’s nest.» Minho hid a smug smile behind a small chalice, ignoring the fact that you were looking at him as to beg him to shut up.

«Is it about Garmoth?» Jisung excitedly asked him, hoping to hear interesting stories about the Dragon, and Minho nodded at him.

«Apparently, our Princess has a soulmate.» he spoke, and the collective gasp that filled the room made you desire for the ground to swallow you whole.

«Who is it? Did anyone win the bet?» Seungmin questioned, making you rise an eyebrow at him.

«The bet?» you quizzically asked, but no one answered you, to engrossed with Minho’s storytelling.

«Her soulmate is our beloved Prince.» he said, and among shocked faces, only Felix and Chris remained stoic.

«Felix?!» Changbin asked incredulous, making you shake your head at him.

«About that-» Felix started to speak, but was immediately cut off by Minho.

«The Prince, a child of Water,» Minho clarified, «which is really weird, because Lix is a child of Earth.»

Chris’ eyes met yours, and you silently apologetically smiled at him; for a split second, you hoped for him not to be against the idea of being your soulmate, however, you realized that the silence that followed Minho’s words meant that everyone was waiting for an explanation.

«We’re quite used to swap titles when we leave Iliya Island, especially since the assassination,» Chris spoke, nervously scratching his nape, «I guess we got caught up. I’m sorry.»

«The assassination?!» you instinctively questioned, memories of the conversation you had with Chris resurfacing; following what he had told you, he had been assassinated two months before your first meeting, so how could he look so relaxed about everything?

Both Felix and Chris explained that there were some nobles not completely happy about the fact that the crowned Prince was an illegitimate child, and therefore tried to get rid of him. However, things definitely changed as soon as they saw Chris effortlessly resurfacing from the ocean he had been thrown to after being stabbed, looking very much alive and enraged.

«It really feels like one of those games I used to play when I was younger: you either had to tell the truth about something or do what you were told to,» Changbin explained as he drank a sip of wine, «Minho, Jisung? I believe it’s your turn.» Jisung and Minho looked at each other, before shrugging.

«It’s really not that deep,» Minho answered truthfully, «once you are born in Duvencrune, you can’t live. Basically, we didn’t want to die in there. If you are born as a Duvencrune citizen, you can't leave, no matter what.»

Although you didn’t realize when, but at some point of the night, you had to share your part of truth as well; you quickly glanced around the room, taking in your friend’s faces as they laughed and teased each other, and you wondered if – when she met Hongjoong, your mother had felt the same feeling of belonging as you do.

Seungmin had returned Garmoth’s sword to you, saying that he had found it as he was descending part of the cliff while they were looking to you, and that was your clue to explain yourself. Again, you told them about what the Dragon had told you to do, but you eventually explained about how you had lived your life as well.

Hongjoong - along with his wife and his friends, had spent part of his life living in Velia, also known as the town of freedom. There, your father and your mother lived peacefully and madly in love with each other, showering you with love from the day you were born; the three of you lived a happy life, along with his friends – your family.

Everything seemed to be perfect; you were growing up cultivating your talent as a daughter of Fire, Hongjoong had patiently and carefully spent part of his days teaching you how to use your powers without hurting yourself in the process.

You admired your mother dearly, and her tales about the days where she met your father and they fought together were probably your favourite. Somehow, you wanted to be just like her: selfless, brave, caring. To anyone who asked you, your mother was a warrior, and it would have been a blessing to be able to resemble her, even if just a little bit.

However, after a mysterious stone had been found – which now you knew it was filled with Kzarka’s power, your mother fell ill and passed away in few weeks, causing the indescribable despair of Hongjoong.

Everything seemed to be okay at the beginning; the two of you would visit her tombstone just outside of town, until you eventually noticed that your father spent excessively much time in front of it. Slowly, you noticed how he had started to change; it was as if his sanity was slowly slipping away, and your concern for him would only grow stronger.

Unbeknownst to him, you started secretly following him, just to see that he spent most of his days in silently weeping while sitting in front of your mother’s grave.

«We were soulmates, how could it happen?» he would mumble occasionally, and although you had lost your own mother, you realized that you couldn’t ever imagine how could he have felt. Days turned into months, and months turned into years, until your father gently kissed your forehead on a rainy Tuesday morning, whispering a quiet «I love you.» before heading out without coming back home.

Needless to say, you were scared, worried, and you felt inconsolable; not even your beloved uncles managed to calm you down, although they were trying their best not to let you realize that they felt the same distress you felt.

Once again, days turned into months, and your father came back on a windy evening; there was a strange light in his eyes, as his body partially covered with blood, and a brand new cape – made with black feathers, was carefully draped over his shoulders. He affectionately caressed your cheek while apologizing for being away, and you leaned into his familiar and comforting warmth with a small nod, forgiving him.

«I missed you, don’t go away anymore.» you mumbled weakly, trying to ignore the small harpy’s skull carefully placed on his shoulder. «I promise.» he gently smiled at you.

That was the last night you saw your father’s heterochromatic eyes. Years went by, and the fact that his soul was slowly changing was more and more evident; he had abandoned his generous and bright spirit in order to hug a darker and unknown side of him, a side that no one – not even him, had ever known nor seen.

Eventually, your father and his friends decided to move towards the East, taking shield in an abandoned Castle outside the Reign’s territories, both not wanting to leave their friend alone, both wanting to keep an eye on him. Of course, driven by your sense of worry towards the person you loved the most, you followed them.

From there, as soon as Hongjoong found another one of those mysterious stones, things rapidly went downhill; eventually, your father had completely lost his soul to darkness, his only goal becoming the one to tear down the four divinities, which were silently watching over their children.

The King’s once bright red eye was now pitch black, as if it was a bottomless hole void of any kind of emotion; his power also drastically changed as well. Of course, he could still control fire, but if once the flames erupting from his hands were warm, bright, red and comforting, now they were as black as a starless sky, and the once burning flames he could control, now almost seemed as cold as ice.

With extreme discouragement, you noticed that your father started to lose his memories to darkness as well. To you, it was heart wrecking to see your uncles losing themselves to darkness as well, especially because you have never been able to do anything to help them.

Everything that happened recently, from the encounter with Garmoth, the talk you had with Chris and the fight you had with Yunho were enough for you to see things from another perspective: the Dragon was right.

It was crystal clear that Kzarka had consumed the soul of the people you loved, using their bodies as powerful vessels, and you were determined to do whatever it took to bring them peace.

«I know it sounds really weird,» Hyunjin hesitantly spoke after you had finished your story, «but I can testify everything she said.»

There were a countless of Gods and Goddesses during the Dawn of Time, not only four; they spent their days in bliss, shaping every part of the land that you were now walking on. They decided to create humanity out of kindness, just to gift them said land they had carefully created; children of Nature would have been rare, but they would have had elemental powers, unlike other human beings.

However, Kzarka - according to the harpy’s word, was the only God that managed to create himself out of humanity’s bad intentions; made from envy, greed and malevolence, Kzarka quickly convinced whoever was not a child of Nature to follow him, promising them power and everything anyone could have dreamed of.

Needless to say, the battle against Kzarka and the corrupted humans lasted for centuries, and sadly, Kzarka grew stronger as much as humans’ negative feelings increased: the effort to seal him had been unimaginable, and only four divinities were left.

«Many had lost their soulmates, and this is why some of us refused to be reborn in a human form.» Hyunjin confessed; back then, he had a soulmate as well, of course. A wild and tomboyish daughter of Storm, as unpredictable as the weather; he had befriended her back then, finding amusing the fact that she was incredibly shocked – and yet happy, to have a harpy as a friend.

However, back then Hyunjin failed to protect her, and the imagine of the lively and bright eyes of the daughter of Storm being clouded with darkness were sometimes still haunting his sleep.

«Nevertheless, the two of you better not try to ditch us to do stupid things.» Felix spoke, his gaze switching from yours to Hyunjin.

«We won’t, right princess?» the bard confirmed him.

«I know we’ll be facing an impossible task, but I would appreciate for you to come with me.» you truthfully said; the thought of facing Hongjoong alone was absolutely inconsiderable. Moreover, although you had made up your mind, you were still scared.

«It’s not like anyone of us had changed their mind.» Jisung unexpectedly spoke with a friendly smile, and the others agreed with him.

Eventually, you and Chris were left alone in your shared room, and now that your soulmate had excused himself to take a shower, you had the chance to glance around your surroundings, faintly illuminated by candles.

A wooden bed and a wooden table stood in your shared room - which was big enough for the two of you to walk around without feeling suffocated; there was a small balcony as well, giving you a perfect yet bittersweet view on the city.

Chris was still taking a shower, since he left you go in earlier; «ladies first!» he said with his usual generous smile, and you eagerly took the opportunity to finally shower after days of constant travel.

Although you didn’t have a change of clothes for the night, you were glad about the fact that this was one of those inn that offered warm robes to the costumers, especially because you didn’t want to wear your usual clothes to go to sleep.

Leaning against the doorframe that led the room to the balcony, and gradually lost yourself in your thoughts, as your gaze was lost in the landscape of the sleeping village.

«Oh.» Chris’ surprised voice instinctively made your head turn towards him; he was wearing his robe as well, his hair still wet from the shower, and his clothes neatly folded in his arms. Chris was looking at you with a slightly surprised expression, of course not used to see you like this. «You look-»

«Well, you didn’t expect me to sleep with my everyday clothes.» you immediately cut him off, a mixture between feeling flustered and not wanting to hear that you looked “different”.

«-stunning. You look stunning.» Chris clarified, and if he was annoyed about you cutting him off, he didn’t show it. Immediately, you felt your cheeks heathen in a sudden and unexpected warmth.

«How are you feeling?» you questioned him as he walked over where you were, after placing his folded clothes next to yours. Since Chris wore his robe really loose, you could see not only the scar from Yunho’s swords, but you could glimpse other scars as well; instinctively, your mind wondered about how Chris’ naked body would look.

“I mean, I’m thinking about his scars”, you clarified to yourself, as if preventing your thoughts from straying to dangerous places.

«Definitely good,» he reassured you with a smile, «Hyunjin told me that I was basically about to die and – oh, were you there already when Lix punched me out of worry?» he questioned and you failed to hide your incredulous giggle.

«He was like “I told you not to make me worry like that anymore, you shark bait!” and punched me square in the jaw.» Chris laughed, tapping twice on the right side of his face.

«He did the right thing, you shouldn’t have done that.» you answered, and Chris simply sighed.

The Prince – still leaning against the doorframe, placed his hand around your forearm, gently pulling you towards him; you let yourself be embraced by him, not wanting to resist his ministrations. Although your hands were still crossed in front of your chest, Chris was now loosely hugging your waist, pressing your body against his; you were sure that, if not for your arms preventing it, Chris could easily feel how fast your heartbeat was.

«Why did you kiss me?» you mumbled, unconsciously glancing at his lips.

«Yeah, why did I?» Chris’ teasing behaviour was back, and you had to admit that if it usually got on your nerves, in that moment you managed to find it somehow alluring.

One of Chris’ hands travelled from your waist to your shoulder, and his touch seemed to set your skin alight that for a second, you wondered who the child of Fire really was; your soulmate had his eyes closed, as his lips were millimetres from yours.

«I love you,» he whispered, your faces so close that you could feel his lips gently brush against yours as he spoke; «I am utterly in love with you, soulmates or not.» he confessed, and you found yourself closing the little distance that remained within the two of you.

Unlike your first kiss, your lips were roughly moving against each other, your right hand loosely gripping the other’s hair and your left arm thrown around his neck, making you stand on your tiptoes in the process. Chris was firmly holding you against his chest with his right arm - helping you keeping your balance, while his left hand was sprawled on the side of your neck, occasionally tilting your head to deepen the kiss, as your mouth was occasionally swallowing his whimpers.

Somewhere along bold touches and heartfelt confession, the two of you had messily kissed your path to the bed, your robes easily discarded in the process.

Chris was laying under you on the soft mattress, and you were sitting on his lap; as he intertwined your fingers, he brought both of your hands over his head, making you lean over him due to inertia.

«I’m really new to this,» Chris’ hoarse voice confessed, «don’t go easy on me.» he mumbled, before he claimed your lips again.

His words hit you like a thunder out of the clear blue sky; you had your fair share of fun and intercourses when you were still living in the Cursed Kingdom, but you had never expected Chris to be still a virgin, especially when he was looking like that.

As if he could hear the metal gear spin in your brain, Chris chuckled against your lips. «Iliya Island is mainly populated by men;» he explained, «moreover, my first time being with my soulmate makes me by and large happier than finding a hidden treasure lost in the sea.» you instinctively scoffed at his words, just to hide the fact that your heart seemed to swell as his mismatched eyes were fondly gazing at you.

As your bodies connected, Chris’ left hand was constantly intertwined with your right one, and as your bodies moved together, you realized that no one else than your soulmate could have made you feel such intense pleasure. His caresses and touches were disconnected paths on your skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps everywhere he decided to touch you.

Chris was just like the sea, an addictive balance of unpredictable storms and calm tide pools; Chris was just like the sea, and you loved him.

Although your friends had different and weird habits, you definitely didn’t understand why they were laughing among themselves while throwing what looked like few leather pouches filled with money.

«What are they doing?» you questioned Chris, which was looking at them with an amused smile.

The two of you walked towards their table, happy that they had already ordered enough breakfast for the two of you as well.

«We had a bet few months ago.» he simply said, taking a seat next to Felix.

«A bet?» you asked, mirroring his action and sitting between your soulmate and Seungmin, surprised that they had enough time to think about bets, «what was it about?»

«Us being soulmates.»

Needless to say, you were glad about the fact that you were already sitting and not still walking, because you would have stopped in your tracks; Chris was looking at you with a mischievous smile and still, you noticed how it gradually grew fond as much as you were getting flustered.

«What did you bet on?» you found yourself asking as you felt your cheeks heathen.

However, before he could answer, Minho loudly called his name, before throwing him pouch full of money.

Chris winked at you, wordlessly giving you the answer you were looking for, and you shook your head, hiding your embarrassment behind an exasperated sigh.

CHAPTER V

«We’ll get caught.» you whispered without any intention to stop Chris as his lips hungrily moved against yours, his hands found their way on your hips, caging you against the kitchen table; instinctively, you put your hands on his shoulders, letting him easily hoist you up on the wooden surface. Chris’ breath faltered as you eventually started to bite a path on his neck, making you smile to yourself.

«Oh, for the love of the Gods,» Hyunjin’s exasperated voice made you and Chris slowly separate from each other while hiding an amused laughter. «What is it?» Seungmin shouted from the other room. «You burned the stew?» Changbin echoed. «We have to sanitize the kitchen, again,» the bard shouted back, «I almost miss the days where you acted like shy virgins.» you heard him mumble to himself, making both you and your soulmate erupt with laughter.

After you and your friends decided to stay together and complete the mission Garmoth had gave you, you also decided that instead of staying at an inn and pay for different rooms, the wisest solution was to rent a house for the months you needed to come up with an efficient plan – months during which Seungmin and Jeongin managed to turn Jisung and Minho into skilled fighters.

«What are you doing?» Jisung knocked to the open wooden door, catching your attention; you lifted your head from your hands, finally stopping burning holes into the alchemy book in front of you.

«Trying to come up with a solution,» you sighed, «I don’t think we can walk into the Cursed Kingdom with our weapons on sight.» Jisung pouted, lost in thoughts; he had an idea, but he was still hesitant to voice it out to you.

«Hannie, you can’t use magic, right?» you questioned him as soon as he took a seat in front of you, opening one of the books on the desk; he shook his head, saying that he could only do some basic healing spell, but nothing else.

Driven by hope, you lent him the enchanted glove Yeosang had made, just to write with ink the same symbol on the top of your hand; using magic, you created a small fireball, before locking your gaze with you friend’s.

«We could use alchemy to share our powers,» you explained that since you had the same symbol on your skin, he could try to summon it in the same moment you decided to lend your powers to him, however, despite multiple attempts, it didn’t work.

Eventually, during the days, Seungmin and Changbin joined the two of you, trying to come up with useful solutions.

«There is something we could try,» Jisung hesitantly spoke, playing with the hem of his shirt; your eyes – along with your friends’, were now locked on him, who seemed to shrink due to the unexpected attention.

With a deep breath, Jisung took enough courage to reach out for a blank paper and draw an alchemy symbol on it; it was exactly like the one Yeosang had created, however, it had few more lines. Aware about the fact that in alchemy, each symbol and each line position had a meaning, you felt colour drain from your face.

«Well, well.» Seungmin chuckled, incredulous. «Did you come up with it?» you questioned him, but Jisung shook his head. «Minho did,» he explained, «however, in Duvencrune it’s forbidden.» «What does it mean?» Changbin curiously asked. «Sharing one’s power.» Jisung dismissed. «In life and in death,» Seungmin added immediately, «Let’s suppose I could use Hyunjin’s power; I could have some real fun, but if I use too much, he could die.» Changbin whistled at the explanation, commenting it that it was indeed risky.

«There’s a way to make it less – less lethal.» Jisung stuttered, adding yet another line to the drawing he made; only then, he unbuttoned the top of his shirt, just to reveal the same drawing engraved on his skin.

Instinctively, the three of you tensed up in front of him; it was easy to figure out that Minho was the other one to have the same drawing engraved on his skin, even without asking.

«There’s a limit of the magic the other can summon.» Jisung explained. «Did you ever use it?» Seungmin asked, unsure, and Jisung nodded immediately. «Twice.» he clarified; since Jisung didn’t explain further, the three of you silently decided not to peer into his past more than needed.

The following day, Jisung’s proposal had been explained to the others, who surprisingly enough took it as a good news. «I think that’s the wisest solution, since I believe we’ll be forced to give up our weapons.» Chris spoke, and Felix agreed with him. «What if someone of us gets, you know – possessed?» Minho questioned, but Felix simply waved his head as if to dismiss his friend’s question. «In that case, just trust Hyunjin.» he said, without explaining himself. «I don’t think I understood how we plan to get into the Cursed Kingdom in the first place.» Jeongin innocently spoke, and you gently smiled at him. «Jeongin,» you sighed, «aren’t you and Seungmin bounty hunters from the Cursed Kingdom?» «Yes!» he immediately answered, «Oh-» he added after few seconds of silence.

To be honest, everything in the plan you and the others had come up with was risky, but it was the only way to enter the Kingdom through the front door without dying before reaching the front gate.

«The key is, we have to trust each other; always.» Minho explained. On a windy morning, you and the others found yourself skinning thin lines resembling an alchemy symbol on the top of each other’s hand, pouring few droplets of your mixed blood over it.

«Do we have to make one of those embarrassing oaths or something?» Seungmin questioned, and Minho simply rolled his eyes in a silent answer.

From that moment, everyone trained meticulously to master few magic spells without letting the children of Nature among you feel any fatigue. It was actually kind of fun, you had to admit to yourself, since not only you could create your own elemental weapon out of thin air, but you could combine the elements as well. In less than two weeks, you could swear that Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin looked like real children of Nature.

Now that everyone had learnt how to use the technique you and Jisung came up with, there was only one problem; your eyes glanced at the sword that Garmoth gave you, leaning against the wall next to your friends’ weapons.

Of course, you couldn’t carry any weapon with you, so, how could you complete your very dangerous mission? A sigh from your left caught your attention; Hyunjin was intensely looking at you with his hands placed on his waist and somehow, you had the impression he could read your thoughts.

«He didn’t tell you?» of course, Hyunjin didn’t need your answer to know, since he had eavesdropped the whole conversation you and Minho had with the dragon. As you were about to ask for a clarification, Hyunjin walked towards the enchanted sword, before carrying it towards you; he unsheathed just a small part of it, the black obsidian blade emitting a faint glow.

«Give me your hand.» Hyunjin ordered, taking a hold of your index finger as soon as you outstretched your hand towards him; he firmly pressed your fingertip towards the blade, and you didn’t need to see it to realize that there were few droplets of your blood on it. Hyunjin sheathed the sword with a satisfied smile, before placing it in its original place.

«Call for it,» he instructed; furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, you tilted your head to the side, and he instinctively giggled at your expression, «think about wielding it, come on.»

Unsurely, you tried to do it; closing your eyes, you pictured the sword in your hand - however, nothing happened. As you opened your eyes, Hyunjin’s encouraging expression suggested you to try again, and you did.

It took few attempts and more concentration than you expected to, but in the end, you found your clenched fist adjusting to the perception of the hilt of the enchanted sword appearing out of nowhere in the palm of your hand.

«We should practice tonight as well,» Chris offered, glancing at the clear sky. «Absolutely not,» Seungmin scoffed, «a storm is coming up tonight.» «Whatever.» your soulmate answered, thinking about the fact that he was simply making up few excuses.

Even if no one payed attention to Seungmin’s words, Hyunjin’s head snapped towards him; how could the human sense a change in the weather before him? Hyunjin’s gaze lost itself in the glass of water in front of him, distant memories of a wild tomboy predicting storms slightly resurfacing.

«Changbin, I have a question but I don’t want to ruin your dinner.» Felix claimed the older man’s attention, who incredulously furred his eyebrows.

«If you doubt you can ruin it, you most definitely already did,» Changbin sighed, before allowing his friend to go on.

«You have a wife, but she’s not a children of Nature, am I right?» Felix questioned almost shyly, and Changbin’s face made it clear that he understood where Felix’s question was going.

«My relationship with Lea is definitely far from perfect,» Changbin sighed, «we have been together for so long – we fought a lot, we still fight sometimes over trivial things, and we mostly will fight in the future.»

«However,» he added before any of you had a chance to question him, «I don’t want this “soulmate” thing unless it’s with her. I’d rather spend the rest of my days listening to her nagging at me because I forget to do the laundry instead of having a peaceful life with someone made just for me, but someone who is not Lea.» Hyunjin felt shortly struck by those words, and his eyes unconsciously found Seungmin’s gaze, who was already looking at him; Changbin loved someone because he chose to, Hyunjin realized, meaning that Changbin was infinitely less of a coward than he was. Seungmin imperceptibly tilted his head to the side, silently questioning if he was okay, and Hyunjin hesitantly nodded at him in a silent answer.

“Loving someone who is not your soulmate, huh?” Hyunjin spoke; as he chewed on a small bite of food, he promised himself that if your group managed to come back alive from the Cursed Kingdom, he would have given it a try.

The trip to the Cursed Kingdom was way much longer and way more silent than you expected, and it wasn’t difficult to realize that everyone must have been incredibly nervous. «I believe in you.», were the last words Chris spoke to you before as planned, Seungmin and Jeongin had tied up everyone right before stepping into the woods right outside the Kingdom, but what no one expected, was to find the city deserted. The Kingdom’s gates had opened by themselves, and the path from the gates to the Castle’s entrance was completely clear. «It’s probably an illusion,» Hyunjin’s nervous voice suggested, «be careful.»

What your group didn’t know was that Hyunjin was right; Kzarka had waited for you to show up, and therefore, as soon as he felt the presence of you and your group walking the woods, he decided to make you reach the Castle as soon as he could, since he couldn’t wait to get rid of you.

«I suppose these are useless, now.» Seungmin spoke, untying your wrists as you were in front of the throne room. Before anyone could answer, the doors opened by themselves, revealing Hongjoong sitting on his throne while the others were standing still at his side. «Finally, the prodigal daughter is back!» Hongjoong announced, sitting up from his throne; you didn’t answer, simply clenching your fists. «Let’s just finish this quickly.» the King spat, and only then, Seonghwa and the others seemed to come to life.

One by one, your friends met their opponent. Seonghwa stood proud in front of Hyunjin, while Wooyoung arrogantly faced Felix. San had his sword thrown over his shoulders, and he confidently walked in front of Changbin, while Yunho did the same thing with Seungmin. Yeosang quickly walked towards Jisung, and since he was the weaker out of the group, Chris immediately walked at his friend’s side. Jongho and Mingi respectively walked in front of Minho and Jeongin, leaving you to face Hongjoong by yourself. With a deep sigh, you imagined yourself wielding Garmoth’s sword, and it immediately appeared in your hand.

«Trying to face me again with that useless toy?» Hongjoong cooed, before charging at you. The fact that Hongjoong had always been an excellent fighter clearly turned out to be a problem, especially now that Kzarka made him even more powerful. His movements were fast and unpredictable, making it impossible for you to come up with actual moves in order to counter attack him; moreover, everyone pretty much had their hands full and therefore, you definitely couldn’t ask your friends for help. «You shouldn’t get distracted, Princess.» Hongjoong spat in a mocking tone, before moving your crossed swords to his left, only to effortlessly wave his right hand in mid-air, creating flying arrows of fire directed towards you. Instinctively, you closed your eyes, summoning a little of Felix’s power to create a shield right to protect yourself with: thin and flexible branches materialized in front of you, letting the fiery arrows only half pass, consequently preventing them from hurting you - and unfortunately hiding Hongjoong’s amazed gaze from your sight as well.

Through the eyes of your father, Kzarka immediately realized that you and your friends must have come up with some sort of forbidden technique that let you and your friends share your magic, and therefore, his plans immediately changed. If he had spent years waiting for the perfect moment to get rid of you, now he found himself thinking that maybe, you could have been more useful than Hongjoong himself. Since then, your fight with Hongjoong drastically changed. If at the beginning you were desperately trying to block and counter attack charged attacks, now you had to dodge as well; you didn’t know yet, but all Kzarka needed was a little droplet of your blood for his plan to work. A loud noise followed by your friends’ screaming voices caught your attention, and you immediately turned around fearing that something had happened to Chris. However, Hongjoong’s pitch black eyes were locked on you, as the blade of his sword was pressed against your neck.

«How stupid must you be to get distracted?» the stinging sensation right where the blade was pressed made you wince, but in that moment, you didn’t ask yourself why Hongjoong didn’t take advantage of that moment but let you move his sword with yours, preventing it from hurting you even further. Although you had been tightly gripping the helm of Garmoth’s sword, you highly doubted you could fulfil his order; Hongjoong’s attack made it clear for you that it was impossible to counter attack him, unless you could outwit him. However, how could you outwit the God of Corruption? The shouts of your friends fighting restlessly made it quite difficult for you to focus, however, you were the only one who could solve the situation. Rubbing the sleeve of your shirt against the fresh wound against your neck in the vain attempt to get rid of the itching sensation, you summoned once again a bit of Felix’s magic, creating a circular shield made of teak tree – thanks to the younger boy you learnt that it was a very resistant type of wood. Since then, you kept parrying Hongjoong with newfound determination, waiting for the perfect moment to strike; however, Hongjoong’s stamina never wavered, and since you summoned just a little amount of your friend’s magic, your shield was far from indestructible.

With your breath uneven and ragged, you were now kneeling in front of Hongjoong, feeling exhausted; glancing at what remained of your shield – now a thin and short column attached to your arm, you opened both your arms, surrendering. The King raised an eyebrow, only to smile victoriously as you threw Garmoth’s sword away from where you were kneeling, the clinging and metallic sound somehow calling for your friend’s attention. Through the eyes of your father, however, Kzarka had already seen through your actions, and decided to act accordingly.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, Hongjoong’s sword was raised in the air, and as soon as he was about to attack you, you abruptly stood up, hitting him in the stomach while using your shield. The King, however, had already deliberately let his sword fall on the ground, letting himself being stabbed by the enchanted sword you had materialized out of thin air.

When Hongjoong regained his consciousness, he felt as if he had been sleeping for years, and most importantly, he felt like he couldn’t remember anything about the dream he just had. There was a woman in front of him, her eyes filled with tears and her expression incredibly sorrowful, but what caught Hongjoong’s attention was the fact that her features looked incredibly familiar. It took him a second to realize that you were the stark copy of your mother, and therefore, you couldn’t be anyone else but his daughter.

Glancing towards the burning sensation coming from his chest, he noticed that there was a sword planted in his heart, meaning that his plan had failed; glancing around the unfamiliar room, he noticed that even if there were few boys standing far from his long time friends, they were standing still as well, imitating his stance while clutching at their own heart.

«I know your face,» Hongjoong mumbled, the gentle whisper of your name making your thoughts dissipate in thin air; it was as the time had stopped all around you, and Hongjoong was looking as you as hesitantly as the day he had held you for the first time the day you were born. Quickly, you nodded your head at him, tears ungraciously falling from your eyes when he smiled, his eyes gradually returning to their original colour. «No, I-» you whispered nonsense words, gripping the helm of the sword in order to extract it with shaky hands; however, Hongjoong leaned against you with a shaky breath and placed a hand above yours, blocking your movement.

«Don’t,» he croaked, «you did well, it was my fault.» he slightly leaned back, his gradually unfocused eyes meeting your crying gaze. «Don’t cry, you did the right thing,» Hongjoong fatiguely whispered, his fingers gently wiping the tears falling from your eyes, «I’m proud of you - we all are.» as your gaze bore into his, your realized that you finally had everything you have ever wanted; you freed your father from his curse, but he couldn’t stay with you.

«Don’t leave me again.» you weakly pleaded, gripping at the fabric of his cloak that was draped on his shoulders, unsure that your whisper could reach his ears. «I’m really sorry, I- let’s meet again in another life, okay?» Hongjoong breathed, pronouncing every word with extreme difficulty as he was losing consciousness. Before his weight completely leaned against you, he managed to bring his right hand in front of his own heart, before extending his hand – now soaked with blood, towards yours in a very familiar gesture you had hoped to see again. «You, me and mom, we - let’s do this “family thing” right the next time we- we meet.»

Before you could answer, however, the sword started to glow brighter, forcing you to detach yourself from Hongjoong’s embrace due to the increasing warmth it was emitting. Within few seconds, Hongjoong vanished in a cloud of thin black dust, and the others simultaneously met the same end, their love for Hongjoong and their will to protect you being the last thing keeping them grounded to this life.

Judging by the deafening silence, it was clear that your friends had stopped fighting, however, no one dared to utter a word; whether it was out of empathy for your suffering, whether it was due to incredulity, each one of them had their reason. With a shaky breath, you kneeled on the floor as tears clouded your gaze, deject and sadness filling your senses; Chris had slowly started to make his way towards you, wanting nothing else to console you but however, Hyunjin’s hold on his arm prevented him from walking further.

«Stay away from her.» Hyunjin’s grip on the Prince’s arm tightened in a threating manner, and as the boys briefly exchanged a glance, Hyunjin pointed towards the two red glowing stones embedded on top of the throne, now glowing even brighter than before. «The plan is not to hurt her, but buy ourselves time.» Hyunjin spoke loud enough for only Chris and the others to hear. «Why should we hurt her in the first place?» Chris questioned the harpy with a confused frown. «Why should we buy ourselves time?» Minho echoed, nervously glancing around himself, briefly meeting Jisung’s tense gaze. As always, Hyunjin didn’t bother to answer his friends; he saw it happen countless times in the past, and therefore he already knew that Kzarka was about to possess your body.

If he were to be honest, Hyunjin had understood Kzarka’s plan in the same moment he noticed him cutting your skin after you summoned Felix’s magic; in that moment, Hyunjin used his powers to reach Karanda in order to ask for help.

Before any of your friends could elaborate another question to ask Hyunjin, a familiar cloud of familiar black smoke seemed to appear out of nowhere, shortly surrounding you and completely hiding you from their sight. Instinctively, you gripped your throat since you felt like you couldn’t breathe properly; it was an indescribable feeling of distress, and everything in your body started to hurt and feel unfamiliar. It was as if Kzarka’s powers were being absorbed in your body through the wound he had previously gave you, and although you wanted to frantically grab your head to make Kzarka’s obnoxious voice disappear, you couldn’t move a finger. «I’ll crush the soulmate first.» were the last words you heard Kzarka whisper through your mouth, before your world faded to black.

Chris and the others watched with horror as you stood up and stretched your arms in the air, as if you felt unfamiliar with your own body. «Let me rephrase my previous question,» Minho quickly walked towards Hyunjin, his eyes still focused on your movements, «buy ourselves time for who?» «I know it’s hard to believe me, but there’s a chance for us to defeat him.» Hyunjin hastily whispered, «Kzarka can’t shatter her soul in so little time, as for the rest, just trust me and let the wind lead.» «Are you done?» you bitterly questioned from where you stood; you lifted the palm of your hand, noticing that the flames you could summon were already almost black – much to Hyunjin’s surprise. Although he had witnessed countless times this moment, what Hyunjin didn’t know was that Kzarka had taken advantage of a perfect moment to possess your body; during your last farewell with Hongjoong, your soul was extremely vulnerable, making you the perfect target. «There’s this thing I’m really curious about,» you spoke again, and through your body, Kzarka tried to summon your friends’ powers; sadly, he couldn’t summon all of them at once, and therefore he realized that you must have meticulously thought about this. However, he could still have fun with it. «I’ll start with you, soulmate.» you spat, theatrically pointing the sword Hongjoong had thrown to the ground towards Chris, who was watching you with a wary expression.

The fact that Chris was partially blind was a secret that only you, Chris and Felix were sharing, meaning that now that someone else could deliberately read your thoughts, your soulmate was in danger.

Not wasting any more time in useless chatter, you attacked your friends, who were having quite some troubles to defend themselves, since you were much more powerful than you usually were. Moreover, Kzarka’s attention was deliberately focused on hurting Chris’, with the only purpose to shatter your soul even more and to quicken the process to seal it away for good. Busy fighting you back while protecting the Prince, your friends still did their best to listen to Hyunjin’s words and not to hurt you; sadly, the fact that you were sharing your powers could be very dangerous, especially when someone else was using too much of it.

Through your body, Kzarka alternately used your friends’ power to the point they were exhausted, kneeling on the floor in the vain attempt to catch their breath and trying not to faint. Since the children of Nature were not a problem anymore, Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin clearly didn’t represent a threat. Summoning Chris’ magic, Kzarka used the same cursed spell that your soulmate had used against his soldiers few weeks earlier; there was water around Chris’ neck, and judging by his restless coughing it seemed to get tighter as seconds went by.

However, before Kzarka could actually finish his work, unfamiliar fingertips clouded his view, and your back found itself firmly pressed against someone’s firm chest.

«You should really learn when to give up.» Garmoth’s voice authoritatively spoke from behind you, and even if Kzarka tried to peel himself from the God’s firm hold, your body was too weak compared to his, and therefore, few seconds later, Kzarka’s consciousness faded to black, making yours resurface.

«You really took your time to get here!» Hyunjin scolded the dragon as he quickly placed his fingertips against Chris’ neck, breathing a sigh of relief in the same moment he heard a weak pulse beat against his skin.

«You already know Kzarka’s power can shield my sight.» Karanda answered him, as she gracefully appeared out of nowhere. Garmoth – who had been erasing the traces of corruption from your soul, gently took his fingertips from your eyes in favour to hold your waist, gently shaking you a bit.

«Wake up, young flame.» he spoke, and you immediately reacted to his gentle words; you opened your eyes with a groan, your eyes quickly glancing around the room only to lock on Chris’ frame. Hyunjin had a hand pressed against your soulmate’s chest, meaning that he was healing him, but what happened? Did you hurt him? As to read your thoughts, Garmoth quickly explained to you what happened, reassuring you about the fact that Chris was still alive.

«What’s going to happen to Hongjoong?» you weakly questioned. «Nothing,» Garmoth sighed, and you could hear him smile through his words, «I’ll scold him for not trying to ask for help, but I promised Karanda to let him meet her daughter right away.» he explained. The Dragon let you go, tapping your back twice to give you the hint that he didn’t have anything to add, and you quickly closed the distance between you and Chris, kneeling next to him with a worried expression.

With a sad smile, Garmoth’s eyes momentary fell on Karanda, who was uninterestedly glancing at your friends; this scene was incredibly familiar to him, and the fact that everyone in your group managed to survive without getting hurt could be called a miracle. Karanda’s gaze locked with his lover, and she gave him a small smile, as to hint that she was thinking about the same thing as well.

Hyunjin was now smiling, amused at the fact that both the God of Fire and the Goddess of Air were standing in the room, and still, your only thought was to make your soulmate was okay.

Like a fairytale, Chris’ eyes opened in the same moment you touched his face; despite Hyunjin had told you repeatedly that he was okay, you couldn’t do anything but anxiously gnaw at your lower lip. «I’m sorry,» you hastily apologized as soon as he made eye contact with you; Chris’ simply answered with a reassuring smile, and you apologized again, your eyes burning with tears. Shaking his head, your soulmate simply lifted his hand in the air, gently placed it on your nape in order to lead your head in the crook of his neck. «It’s okay,» Chris whispered, «I knew it wasn’t you.» at his words, you silently let yourself cry against his chest.

«We’ll be taking these.» Karanda spoke, claiming both yours and your friends’ attention – who were now standing around Chris, after helping him get up again. Two precious looking caskets appeared in Karanda’s and Garmoth’s hands, and thanks to divine magic, the two glowing red stones embedded in Hongjoong’s thrones had been sealed. The two Gods simultaneously flicked the hand that wasn’t holding the casket, and it disappeared in thin air.

As soon as Karanda and Garmoth turned to praise yours and your friends work, you shortly found yourself without words. If both you and Minho had secretly commented about Garmoth looking handsome, you knew that the next topic would have been that he was nothing compared to Karanda. Everything in her appearance looked ethereal, from her white hair perfectly braided in a complicate hairstyle, to her white dress who seemed to be constantly swayed by a gentle breeze. Only then, you remembered Hyunjin’s words, and how he told you that Garmoth loved to spend his time among humans and therefore, that’s why he looked more like one.

«Before we go, there’s something we have to do!» Garmoth’s dazzling smile was back on his lips, as he cleared his voice, «The Cursed Kingdom has fallen, and the King has died.» he announced, his authoritative and booming voice echoing through the empty throne room.

Garmoth walked towards where you stood, before kneeling in front of you, «Long live to the Queen.» «No, I -» you tried to retort, trying to saying that you didn’t feel like you deserved the title, but your friends immediately eagerly imitated Garmoth’s action. Quickly looked around yourself, your friends – and your soulmate, had their head lowered towards the ground, while Karanda stood still, and simply hinting a nod with her head as soon as your gaze met.

«Kzarka’s curse doesn’t exist anymore, meaning that not everyone will remain here,» the Goddess spoke, «there will be much work to do, but I believe you have faced much more threatening dangers.» she hinted a smile, and you heard Hyunjin snort from his kneeling position.

Of course, unlike you, Hyunjin knew that Karanda could see few glimpses of the future, meaning that her words simply meant something along the lines of “your Kingdom will be great! good luck with this, kiddo!”, but he thought that you were lucky because it could have been worse, she could have spoken in riddles. With the last blessing of erasing completely the traces of Kzarka’s corruption, Karanda and Garmoth used divine magic in order to renew both the Castle and the Kingdom in a blink of an eye; now made of white marble instead of black lava stone, it was as if a new era was about to begin.

Of course, as you and your friends were having a private chat with the Gods, within the streets of the Kingdom everyone’s eyes were locked both on the sudden change of the Castle, but also on the strong yet gentle breeze that easily dissipated the thick layer of clouds that had prevented everyone from seeing the Sun from so many years.

After saying your farewells, Karanda and Garmoth headed towards the huge balcony adjacent to the throne room. «Hyunjin, come.» Karanda spoke without looking back, but Hyunjin clenched his fist, his eyes locked on the floor. «Karanda, I…» he tried, his voice barely above a whisper; immediately, your eyes fell on him, since you weren’t used to see Hyunjin like this. Karanda stopped, and briefly turned around; she attentively scrutinised Hyunjin’s face, before her lips erupted into a small, sad smile. «I believe you remember your oath,» she spoke, her body now completely turned towards him, «unlike them, you won’t grow old, is this what you want?» Hyunjin nodded, wordlessly, and Karanda sighed heavily; as if Garmoth was reading her mind, he chuckled briefly, but stopped as soon as the Goddess glanced at him. Karanda then sighed again, before closing the space between her and Hyunjin; she cupped his cheek, and since she was taller than him, she easily kissed his forehead. In the same moment Karanda’s lips brushed against Hyunjin’s skin, you saw it again; for a brief second, pure white feathers seemed to erupt from Hyunjin’s forearms, just as it happened when he used ancient spells to heal Chris. «Enjoy your life as a human, my friend.» Karanda spoke soothingly, and Hyunjin reached out with trembling fingers to hold her hands, which here still gently holding his face, «when the moment comes, I’ll undo the spell.» Although Hyunjin gave her a secure nod, his eyes were filled with tears; since his soulmate died, he never imagined that he would have sincerely wanted to live as a human - back then he even accepted the mission to watch over you without completely wanting to, and yet, there he was. Hyunjin had found friends he genuinely cared about, and the thought to leave them behind made him extremely sad and lonely. Garmoth smiled at Karanda as if she was the most beautiful entity he had ever seen, and immediately threw his arm over her shoulder in a gentle way, «You’re growing soft, my love.» «Shut up.» she weakly mumbled, aware that only her lover could hear the faint tremor in her voice. Karanda and Garmoth glanced at you and your friends one last time, and in the blink of an eye, both of them were gone.

Few days later, the light of the morning sun fell on Chris’ naked chest, as the two of you were cuddling in bed in your bedroom in the Castle; a blanket was draped over your naked bodies, covering your waists. Chris was absently stroking your arms, his eyes lost somewhere on the ceiling; you sighed, recalling the past days events. The Kingdom was a complete mess to begin with: as expected, many people had left as soon as Kzarka’s curse had vanished, and most importantly, the Kingdom’s reputation was terrible in all the known lands. How could you fix everything?

«What’s wrong?» Chris questioned you as if he could hear the gears in your brain spinning restlessly; with another sigh, you sat up, not having the courage to look at him in the eyes as you uttered your next words. «I think you should return to Iliya island.» you hesitantly spoke. «Oh.» was everything Chris said, his tone laced with sadness made it impossible for you to think you could face him; sadly enough, unlike the previous night, you had completely forgotten about the huge mirror standing in front of your bed, Chris’ gaze locked on your eyes through the mirror with a completely different expression compared to your previous nights’ activities. «Don’t get me wrong,» you immediately added, afraid that he could take your words in the worst way, «I love you, and I would definitely love to spend the rest of my life with you, but - I feel like it would be wrong to be happy when the people living here probably are not, and…» «I think I understand where you’re going,» Chris sat up as well, quickly positioning himself sitting behind you so that he could cage your body and make you feel safe, «this is why, I’m telling you to think about your Kingdom - I probably would have said the same if I were in your place. I’ll wait for you.»

Finally, you met Chris’s gaze through the mirror, and once again, what you found in it were absolute affection and sincerity. «What if you get tired of waiting?» you furrowed your eyebrows, holding his hand a little tighter. «Sweetheart, we’re soulmates,» he gently chuckled, placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder, «I could and I would never turn my back on you, nor I will get tired of waiting. However, your citizens probably will.» you listened to his words, glad about the fact that not only he understood what you meant but he was also trying to give you some useful advice as he had previously done. «Although I really pains me to part from you, I want you to be with me because you feel ready for it; moreover, leading a country is not easy. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll make this country so prosperous it will rival the Capital.» «Thank you.» you breathed out. «No need to thank me, sweetheart.» Chris hummed again your skin, placing another kiss on the crook of your neck.

«Hey, Chris?» you called out again, and you felt your soulmate place his chin on your shoulder, tilting his head, «I’m not sure I told you yet, but I really - I love you.» Through the mirror, you could see Chris blush from his cheeks to the tip of his ears. «I can’t believe you confessed before me!» he shyly hid his face behind your nape, before eventually adjusting your positions in bed so that you were now laying down and he was partially hovering above you. «I love you too, my Queen.» he murmured against your lips, before capturing them in a heated kiss.

EPILOGUE

There was a Castle that stood tall at the world’s end: made of white marble and golden amber, its authoritative appearance was enough to make people admire everything about who lived in it and within its increasing territories. The dark and thick layer of clouds that for decades has hovered on top of the Kingdom had dissipated completely, and the citizens’ tales spoke about how the Queen was blessed by the Goddess of Air and the God of Fire to the point that occasionally, clouds only generated above fields just to enable crops and livestock to flourish. Strolling from town to town, Garmoth proudly overheard people talking about his daughter’s work. The Cursed Kingdom had been in ruin for years, and its conservative nature had made it self-sufficient; however, since the Fallen King’s daughter has inherited the throne, it took her four years to make her Kingdom bloom so prosperously to rival the others.

Of course, you didn’t do everything on your own; when Chris and Felix decided to return to Iliya Island, Jeongin and Seungmin decided to go with them, while Hyunjin, Jisung, Minho and Changbin – and therefore Lea, moved in the Castle with you. Although no one among you had the right knowledge about what could be needed to rule a Kingdom, you managed to figure out a way to do it out of spite. «Think about the nobles in the Capital gossiping about us,» Lea giggled as she helped you dress up, «I swear, I’d open a brothel just to have a detailed description of what their incredulity looks like as they say that we’re even richer than they are.» she chanted to herself, and you refrained from the instinct to laugh with her, since she was tying up the laces of your corset. Most importantly, you were definitely too nervous to laugh, since today was a day so important you swore could even outshine the day of your coronation. «What if he doesn’t like me anymore?» you whispered to yourself, however, Lea abruptly stopping her movements meant that she heard you. «Sweetie, we don’t do that here,» she turned you around, before cupping your jaw, «moreover, you’ve exchanged letters for four years, I bet he loves you to the Sun and back.»

Of course, few hours later, you found out that Lea was indeed right – as always. The moment of your reunion, your eyes were locked on Chris so intensely that you almost choked on your water when Minho asked you if you saw Seungmin and Hyunjin peck each other's lips.

Standing on the balcony attached to your room, you were leaning against the railing as Chris’ arms were caging your body as his hands were leaning over it; you wrapped your arms around his waist, realizing that you incredibly missed his touch during these years.

If possible, Chris looked even more handsome, his jet black hair was longer, naturally curling itself in soft waves you loved to run your fingers through. «Chris, I-» you hesitantly spoke, losing yourself in the affection that his eyes showed you; you gently lifted your hand, your fingertips brushing against his cheeks ever so lightly. Taking a deep breath, every sign of hesitancy seemed to disappear from your soul, as Chris encouragingly smiled at you, silently telling you that he was listening

That was it, you thought, that was the life you could finally feel worthy to live. «Chris, will you marry me?» you asked, however, Chris’ smile completely fell, making your heart sink. All of a sudden, Chris’ face erupted into an incredulous smile, accompanied by an incredulous chuckle; he easily entangled himself from your arms, just to gently wrap his right arm around your neck, tugging you towards him. «Again? I can’t believe you proposed first, as well!» he gently rubbed at your head, like he had done few times during your travel, «I was trying to build up my courage to propose to you so hard that Felix threatened to throw me overboard!» you found yourself laughing along him, your heart finally at ease.

«I’m getting married,» you timidly admitted to your parents’ tombstones, «and I wish you were here with me.». All of a sudden, a gentle breeze disheveled your hair, and a weird sensation of warmth seemed to cover your cheek for a little while; it lasted for few seconds, just for everything to vanish as nothing happened. The trip to Velia was something Chris had predicted, since he knew that your mother’s tombstone was in your home-town, and the fact that you had buried one of Hongjoong’s sword and his favourite armor next to her was something that he found out thanks to the letters you exchanged.

Chris’ steps echoed on the gravel, before he kneeled next to you; it was just like that time, many years ago, when Chris offered you his coat in the clumsy attempt to console you. This time, Chris was looking at you with a serene and happy expression - matching yours; he tilted his head quizzically, and you nodded at him before getting up, brushing the dust from your clothes.

«Let’s go,» you sighed, «I promised Felix he could choose the flowers.» «Oh,» Chris giggled, «good luck with finding your way to the altar.» he joked. «No need,» you immediately retorted with a chanting tone, earning a questioning look from your partner, «we’ll find our way together.» Chris gaze softened, and he reached out to intertwine his fingers with yours as the two of you were walking to the carriage waiting for you. «Of course,» he echoed, «we’ll find our way together.»

Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories. I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.

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