“I’m a shape-shifter.”

  Shape-shifter? How can he be a shape-shifter? I thought everyone here were regular humans if they’re not a mystical creature.

  “I-I don’t understand,”

  “I knew you wouldn’t. I’ll explain everything, but first we need to check on the wall Kiseop told me about earlier.”

  The wall. I can’t believe it’s actually cracking. I hoped it was a coincidence and not part of this prophecy thing. I’ll never acknowledge that as real.

  “Has it cracked before?” I asked, hoping this was normal.

  He shook his head. “No. The wall should be enchanted with a barrier. Only something strong can break it or by nature."

  We walked out the castle to the Western Wall. On the way there, I noticed the town was no longer in its deserted form. Many people were walking the streets, bartering things I have seen and never seen. I wondered how the resources never go to waste or run out. I’ll ask about that when Kevin will explain his shape-shifting ability.

  A little girl came up to us and held out an apple, recognizing Kevin. She bowed her head shyly and held out the apple. The moment he took it out of her hands, she ran pass us.

  Kevin chuckled. “Such a sweet girl.” He wiped the apple on his sleeve and took a bite. “It’s pretty good. Want a bite?”

  I shook my head.

  He ate the rest of it along the way, munching and crunching like a hungry dog. By the time he finished, we reached the Western Wall and sure enough there was a crack running from the ground up to about eight feet.

  “It’s from the inside,” he muttered.

  “Is that bad?” I asked.

  “It means there’s a threat from the inside. Either someone is careless enough to have stray magic strike the wall or a Shadow is wandering around the village.”

  A Shadow? Could it be the Shadow that Dongho got out of me this morning? No. That Shadow was inside me while I was asleep and this occurred at that time. “Did they see what happened?”

  He shrugged. “Let’s ask someone. Look. There’s Kiseop. Kiseop!”

  Kiseop was examining the wall from below, touching the huge crack while other men were examining the remains. When he heard Kevin call his name, he turned around. “Prince Kevin, what are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to check out what’s going on.” Kevin walked up to him as I followed.

  “We’re still figuring out how and who did this. So far, we don’t know. The evidence was wrong. We thought it was a Shadow, but it ended up to be something else. If it was a Shadow, then there should be a mark. It seems like a human did it.” He caressed the wall.

  It wasn’t the wall I was staring at, but his scar. I wanted to know where and how he got it. It was bothering me like crazy! When I see something like that, I have to understand. But it’s not the right time to ask. The topic right now is about the wall, so I decided to pop in, “So you don’t have any leads?”

  Kiseop shook his head slowly. “None, but I’ll let everyone know when we have something.”

  “Thank you Kiseop. I’ll let you continue on with your work,” Kevin stated, eyeing the wall.

  Kiseop bowed. “Thank you.” He stood straight, giving me a look, “I hope you will be able to protect this Kingdom once the prophecy takes place.”

  I wanted to argue with him. I didn’t think the prophecy is real and I still think this way. I believed the person who created it was a crazy guy and wrote it when he was drunk. Of course I couldn’t say that or else they’ll think I’m the one that’s crazy. Avoiding an argument, I gave a shaky smile and said softly, “I hope so, too.”

  He returned the smile; his scar moving as he moved his lips and cheeks. “Good-bye,” he ended and turned back to the wall.

  Kevin grabbed my arm. “C’mon. I’ll tell you some things about us and Neverland at lunch. I’m getting hungry. Are you? You used up a lot of calories training with us.”

  I didn’t answer, but my stomach does by growling. I blushed in embarrassment. Why stomach? Why did you have to growl at this time?

  He chuckled. “Let’s go.”

~*~

  At the table, we found Dongho and Eli sitting across from each other on a long table. Eli had his arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed. As for Dongho, he rested his head on top of his propped up elbow, playing with the fork. I could tell he was bored.

  “Where’s everyone?” Kevin questioned, causing the siblings to stop what they were doing and turn to us.

  “They’re coming late,” Eli replied coolly.

  “They told us we can eat now, but Eli said to wait for you two,” Dongho snorted.

  “Good! At least he knows how to be patient!” Kevin commented, sitting next to Eli.

  Dongho looked at me, still standing at the same place. The food appeared delicious. I could feel my mouth watering, choosing in my head which one I want to eat.

  “You can sit next to me,” I heard Dongho say.

  Sit next to him? I will as long as he doesn’t play an illusion on me like putting a fake chair or some of this delicious food on my plate.

  The moment I sat, Dongho reached out for the food he wanted. Kevin slapped his hand. “Ladies first.”

  He pulled his hand back and scoffed.

  “Go ahead,” Kevin reassured, pushing a plate close to me.

  I took small portions of everything, wanting to taste what they offered. I noted in my mind whether the food was good or not.

  While I was eating and the siblings were getting their food, Kevin asked, “Do you still want to know about my shape-shifting ability?”

  “Yeah!” I have a lot more questions other than that, but this was a start. This Neverland was nothing like I thought it would be.

  Dongho opened his mouth, but Kevin interrupted, “I’m telling the story.”

  He closed his mouth, shrugged, and ate his food silently.

  Kevin continued, “The longer you stay here, the more things you learn. Take AJ for instance, he studied magic for hundreds of years, but still hasn’t mastered everything… As for Dongho, uh, I don’t exactly know how he does it.”

  “I learned it from a Shadow,” Dongho said, giving a sly grin. "She thought I was one of them because I knew how to be cold and AJ concealed me in a dark cloak and added black pupils. It was fun, but I had to kill her in the end.” He took a knife in his hands and played with the blade, careful enough for it not to cut him. “If I kept her alive, she could’ve warned her folks and kill me. But I was faster.” He stabbed the knife on the table.

  I jumped from the sound and scooted away from him. I didn’t want to get stabbed the next time he does that!

  “Hey! You’re going to mess up the table!” Kevin scolded.

  Dongho shivered and took the knife back out to slice his pork.

  Eli was still quiet. I wanted to talk to him, but he seemed repellent. It seemed like he’ll glare at me the moment I speak to him.

  He noticed and had his attention on me. “I’m not like them. I just do well on combat.”

  I nodded slowly. What was I to say about that? Obviously, he is good at combat considering the way he trained me today.

  “I haven’t finished my explanation. I got my powers from a pixie. I saved her and she gave me my ability, but I sometimes think it’s a curse. Sometimes I can’t control it and when I get angry, I randomly turn into an animal just like during training. And unexpectedly, I can turn half human and half animal. It’s a fun ability with consequences.”

  “What about Kiseop and his scar?” It’s been bothering me ever since I saw it this morning. For a handsome guy, it was hard to believe he had so much troubles and battles.

  “We don’t know what happened,” Kevin explained.

  “He was like that when he arrived at our Kingdom.” Eli added.

  “He was from another world where the Shadows conquered their land. He, too, fell in a hole and ended up in the forest where Hyuna found him. At that time, we allowed people to stay.” Dongho said and took a bite of his pork. He continued with a stuff mouth, “We took him in as a guard.” He chewed and swallowed, “We trained him or more like Eli did because Kevin and I didn’t have our ability at that time. He didn’t tell us his story even though we’re close, so we have no idea what happened in his world.”

  “How many worlds are there?” Man, this sparked so many questions in my head.

  “Infinite.” Kevin answered, “Anything else?”

  “The prophecy. Who made it?”

  “A fairy named Jongki. Fairies don’t usually have last names, so it’s just Jongki. He was very wise and could foretell the future. He made many prophecies which were nonsense sometimes, but the most famous one was the one he wrote about the warrior.”

  “If the rest were nonsense, then why believe in this one?”

  “It’s simple,” Dongho stated, “The nonsense ones came true and now we’re just waiting for this one.”

  “Anything else?” Kevin asked me.

  There were still some things I’m confused about like how do people stay young in Neverland, how did everyone get here, where does the black hole come from, and many others. I was about to ask my next question until someone interrupted me.

  “Master Eli, Master Kevin, Master Dongho, we have another human arrive, but there’s something wrong.” AJ popped up.

  Eli and Kevin’s eyes fell to Dongho who spoke, “Is it a Shadow’s doing?”

  He shrugged, “Maybe. Hyuna felt there was something strange, but she didn’t know what. We’ll need you in the infirmary.”

  Dongho stood and so does his brothers. He held up a hand. “I’m going alone.”

  I don’t know why, but something was bothering me. I was feeling a sudden fear hitting me. I stood like everyone else. “I want to come.”

  They turned their gaze on me while I look into Dongho’s eyes. I was serious and I know he felt it because he rolled his eyes to the side.

  “Come then, but if I tell you to leave, you must exit the room. It could get dangerous.”

  I nodded.

  He accepted it and told AJ, “Thank you. You’re dismissed.”

  AJ bowed, taking a worried glance on me, “Please be careful, Milady. We don’t want you injured on the night of the siege.”

  Again, I nodded and followed Dongho to the infirmary.

~*~

  The room was completely white: white bricks, floorings, everything. There was a screen beside a bed, covering whoever was lying there, so all I could see was a silhouette. It was dead quiet in the room which scared me.

  Dongho placed a finger to his lips and gestured me to follow. He pulled back the screen, revealing the figure.

  My eyes widen as I saw who lay there. No. It can’t be her. No! I didn’t want anyone to get involved. “Rima!” I gasped.

  Rima’s eyes flung open. Her pupils weren’t the normal hazel color, but a deep red. They shift to me without her head moving.

  I felt my body shook from fear.

  She continued to stare at me with a bland expression. She jolted, trying to grab me, but her hands and feet were binded to the bed. Rima continued to struggle, grunting and staring at me.

  I took a step back. “What’s wrong with her?” I asked Dongho, panicky.

  “.” He mutters. “We came a bit too late. Stay back.” He pushed me.

  "Wait what do you mean? Can’t you do the same thing you did to me? Can’t you just pull it out and destroy it in a fire?”

  “No the Shadow’s already sticking. Didn’t I say, stay back?” He was practically yelling at me.

  I took a step back, but stayed close enough to see both Dongho and Rima. What will he do to her? Please tell me he won’t hurt her.

  Dongho rolled up his sleeves and muttered strange words like before, but he was saying them faster than the first time. When he stopped, I could see a dark fog surrounding him. Slowly, it enveloped Rima, causing her to struggle more and scream in pain.

  I covered my ears, hearing the shrill cry. This was the loudest scream I’ve ever heard. It was piercing though my ears like a sharp dagger. This was louder than this morning’s Shadow.

  Dongho didn’t seem to mind the noise and muttered more words. The fog was leaving him, going to Rima.

  Her hands and feet bounced as she trashed around violently. Her eyes now gazed upon Dongho; very fierce and filled with anger.

  When the fog completely covered her, he lifted a hand and slammed it against her chest. There was a shrill cry, followed by a gasp. Her body arched as her eyes roll up. He kept his hand there as a light spreaded throughout her body till it completely disappeared.

  Her body relaxed as she fell unconscious.

  Dongho took his hand away, breathing deep. His chest was rising distinctively under his clothes. “It’s over,” he managed to say.

  I ran to Rima, making sure she was okay. I noticed her breathing was normal as if she was asleep. I turned to Dongho, “Thank you! I-“ I stopped as he appeared weak. “Are you-“ I couldn’t finish my sentence as he fainted.