Aohn woke up from her thoughts and stoop up, aligning her bed sheets. It was now. It should be now.

Moving most of the candles to her small and centered table, she chanted some words as if those were parts of a song. When she finished, she shuffled the cards and threw the dices on the table.

“No, it can’t be!” Darkness. Fear. Confusion.

She threw the dices again and turned over a card.

“The same result. I can’t see anything. That’s impossible!” She exclaimed, in disbelief. “Unless… But no! The sky is clear, the sun is up, the city is calm and the spirits are relaxed… I should be able to see something! Show yourself… Please show yourself to me…”

She threw the dices again, and again. The result was the same. She could only guess: either she was losing her abilities, or a calamity would soon arrive. Aohn didn’t know which was more frightening.

 

“Mi Ra… Mi Ra!” He was looking for her. Benevolent Gods of Óthis, could he have chosen any worse occasion to visit her? This wasn’t the right time. Her head was a mess. A disaster could be smelled at distance. But he was coming.

What could she do? She wasn’t properly dressed and her hair was a mess. Of course, that could be considered a disaster.

“Mi Ra, here you are!” He said while opening the door. She looked at his shadow and her heart started beating fast, even though she knew it wasn’t right. “I look-Oh!” He exclaimed, and turned around.

“You really like to try many new things, Prince Lee Chang Wook-sshi. Now you’re even trying to peek while a young lady is dressing up?” She said, with a nonchalant voice but with a smile hid by her room’s darkness. “Please get out. I’ll meet you in the Red Sea Quarter Room.”

Without a word, he left. She hurried to the door and opened the windows, letting the sun lights in. After hiding her cards, she chose a simple dress to wear and some comfortable yet nice shoes to walk and went, ready to meet him.

She couldn’t hide her excitement, as much as she was scared of the outcome. They were friends, but that kind of relationship wasn’t accepted in Óthis. And what if they turned into lovers? That would be considered a deadly sin, but that possibility was rare. He would never love her that was clear.

Stopping at the door, she sighed and walked in. Chang Wook stood up with a smile and prepared a chair for her to sit down.

“Mi Ra! I was waiting for you! I’m sor-”

“Don’t call me that!” She hissed. “You know that Chozêhs are supposed to follow only her revival’s name, and no one is supposed to know the birth one.”

“But I like your name”, he whined. “It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.” He smiled, and that smile made her blush.

“I’m ‘Chozêh Aohn’ for you, and you’re Prince Lee Chang Wook to me. You know how things are.” She emphasized.

“But you call me ‘Chang Wook sshi’. Why shouldn’t I call you Mi Ra?”

 

Aohn sighed, trying to calm down and get her heartbeat stable. That was hard while she was near him. “You were the one who threatened me and made me promise to call you by that name. So-”

“So”, he interrupted her, “you’re saying I should threaten you again? I can do it.”

She laughed. “You’re impossible.” She accepted the chair and sat down. “Why do you want to see me? Did anything happen with your family? Are you sick? Is anything wrong?”

He sat down as soon as she was seated, and shook his head. “Do I need a reason to meet you? I missed you and our talks, that’s why I came to see you. I just didn’t expect to see you like that. Did you oversleep?”

“No”, she replied, “I was playing the cards. But I didn’t see anything worth mentioning.”

“I see.” He nodded. “That’s a good sign, then, right?”

“Not really.” She explained. “Even when there aren’t threats, we’re always able to see anything. Even if we just get some feelings of happiness and freedom, that’s already something. But not seeing or feeling anything at all? That’s a sign of catastrophe.”

“Hmmmm.” He looked around and then looked straight at her, making her move her eyes down. “Have you discussed it with any other chozêhs?”

“No, I didn’t. I mean, I know some feel that something in the air, but they can’t figure it out what. It’s all back to normal if we follow their opinions. But you know that they don’t have my guess powers.”

“They don’t even know your Elloymyst powers”, he laughed and she followed him. He was always teasing her, saying she had inhumane powers. In a way, it was true because she had the vision of a prophet, but he meant something like physical powers – abnormal strengths, lights coming from the hands, poisoned tongue… and many others.

“Mi- Aohn-sshi… I’m feeling bad. Nothing’s going well in the palace. I’m always the one being left out. Even though that’s not necessarily bad because I can escape to meet you anytime of the day.”

“What about your brothers?”

“Always cold as ice to me. They say that our father only loved a girl, and that girl was a poor and dirty mistress who gave birth to a useless son. No one recognizes me, and even my father has difficulty in defending me in front of the Council.”

 

Aohn dropped her head for a bit, feeling those words of pain and injustice. Such a nice young man being left alone, it wasn’t right. A man with potential who was destined to do so many things, ignoring him wasn’t right either.

If only she wasn’t a Chozêh. If only she was a normal young woman from the middle or high class who met him in normal circumstances. If only she could stand up and hug him, telling him everything was okay. That he had her.

But she couldn’t. It was forbidden. Chozêh were the Gods’ ladies. The girls who were chosen since birth to hold earth’s secrets and help humanity. The girls who should know no men. That power was a gift and a curse. But for her, it was just a curse.