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03

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You woke up again just as the sun was barely setting. You groaned and rubbed your eyes, looking around the room. There was a large dresser and two large doors leading somewhere else. You slid out of bed and wobbled on your feet for a moment before heading over to one of the doors.

You pushed it open and noticed that it led to the bathroom. You could definitely use a bath, but where were your clothes? You leaned out of the bathroom and hopped over to the other door and pulled it open.

Your sleepy eyes went wide as you saw tons and tons of clothes. Well. You found your closet. You wandered around inside for a moment before picking a simple dark blue dress with some white lace. You stepped out into your room and stopped at the dresser to find undergarments.

“What? Why would they keep these out here and not in... Oh, whatever.” You grabbed a few things before heading into the bathroom and figuring out how to draw a bath. It only took a few moments, and soon, you were enjoying a nice warm soak in the bathtub.

You glanced curiously at the soap lining the tub and picked a bar up and sniffing it. It smelled of honey and... something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but you liked it. You practically swam around the tub to look for shampoo and searched for the one that matched the soap.

You giggled, playing around with the suds and bubbles your skin started to prune and the water cooled down. You finished bathing and grabbed a towel, marveling at how fluffy it was. No more drying off with harsh rags and bathing in cold water.

You pulled your dress on and tied the white ribbon on the waist, turning in the mirror to make sure that it wasn’t lopsided. You dried your hair and held it up in a messy bun before leaving the bathroom and spotting a vanity.

You sat down in front of it, admiring how beautiful it was before looking in the mirror. There was a natural blush on your cheeks, and your eyes were shining brighter than you’d ever seen them before. There was an array of clips and headbands on the vanity, and you picked up a white clip with blue flowers on it to hold your hair up.

Where was Joon? You huffed and looked around the room. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you tried to explore the castle on your own. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to find you, and if you got lost, you could just call for him to come rescue you from wherever you were.

You opened up the door and peeked your head out. There were still a few traces of light here and there, but they could be easily avoided. There were already a few people out and about, and they greeted you sleepily as they walked by.

You stepped out of your room and closed the door behind you before walking in the opposite direction of where Joon took you last time. You picked random hallways to walk down, and ended up in a portrait room.

The room had no door, instead the doorway was lined with tied back curtains. You looked around at tall the pictures and read the captions and titles. They were portraits of past High and Arch Mages. You stopped at one particular picture and froze, reaching up with your hand, but deciding against touching it.

There was a picture of a High Mage, looking out with a fond smile on his face. And his eyes looked just like yours. You stared at the picture of the longest time before looking down at the name and the date.

You frowned. He seemed to have the shortest lifespan out of all the High and Arch Mages. Most of the other ones lived for hundreds of years, and this one lived for barely thirty. Your eyes traveled back up to the man’s face and stayed there for the longest time until you heard someone chuckling behind you.

You turned around and saw the man from yesterday, the one that almost hit you with a fireball, leaning against the entrance to the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

“People normally don’t come into this room,” he said. You looked away from the portrait towards him and looked back one more time before heading for the exit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we were allowed in here,” you said quietly.

“No, it’s not that. Everywhere is open to everyone, save for the High Mage’s study.” He moved out of your way and held the curtain back for you.

“Thank you,” you said, bowing slightly.

“No, my pleasure. It’s not every day I catch the eyes of a beautiful woman.” You turned away from him and blushed furiously.

“You’re the Arch Mage?” he asked curiously. You sighed and nodded.

“At least, that’s what people have been telling me. I’m waiting for when I wake up from this dream and find myself back in my room at the castle of Armalis.” You looked around and felt your stomach rumble.

“My name is Myungsoo. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He bowed to you and reached for you hand. Once he touched it though, you felt some life drain away from him and into your body as he jerked his hand away hastily.

You took a step back from him, clearly surprised. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were alive, otherwise I would’ve-” He helped up his hand to cut you off and took a few deep breaths.

“It’s my fault. I knew you had that power, but I was just curious to whether or not your skin felt as soft as it looked.”

He looked back to you to see you giving him a look of mixed guilt and disbelief, like it was your fault, but you were mildly appalled that he was still hitting on you. He chuckled again and shook his head as your stomach growled again.

“Walk with me. I’ll take you to eat.” You were so hungry, you followed him without any question, making sure to put a safe distance between the two of you. Maybe you’d ask Seungho for some gloves, just in case.

--

“So, not everything in Rivedon is dead?” you asked in between eating. Myungsoo watched in disbelief as you devoured the plate of food in front of you.

“No,” he said slowly, “the only living things are werewolves, warlocks, witches, a few humans here and there... and you. I think that’s it. It’s interesting you can’t go into the sunlight, though. Most of the living here can.” You finished off your plate and pushed it towards the cooks as they took it away from you. Myungsoo was only half finished and grinned when he saw you eyeing his plate.

“Still hungry?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine, you can finish-” Myungsoo pushed his plate towards you, and you stared at him, just to make sure he really wasn’t hungry.

“Go ahead. I didn’t poison it or anything.” He tried not to laugh as you finished off his plate too.

--

“So, what’s your job around here?” you asked Myungsoo as the two of you made your way back to the castle. He had his hands behind his back and walked leisurely as the two of you talked.

“Knight in training. The knights around here are the elite class, the strongest of whatever brand of magic they possess.” You nodded with a smile.

“That sounds like hard work.”

“So does Arch Mage,” he said in a teasing voice. You huffed and pursed your lips.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do or what my powers are besides killing stuff.” You held your hands up in front of you and frowned. Myungsoo glanced over at you and smiled before jamming his hands into his pockets.

“Well. You have pretty hands, if that makes you feel better.” You let your hands fall to your sides and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Do you always compliment women this much?”

“Only the pretty ones.” You rolled your eyes and opened your mouth to speak, but something came hurtling at you and squeezed the air out of your lungs.

“Oh my god! There you are! I thought I lost you, and Seungho would’ve had my head if something happened to you, and it’s only the second day!” Joon crushed you into a hug, your hair like you were a long lost possession.

“Ugh, let go of me!” You shoved at him and hit him on the arm while Myungsoo watched in amusement and mild jealousy that Joon could touch you without getting hurt.

“Where were you?” he asked, holding you out at arm’s length. Joon gave you a stern look before Myungsoo cleared his throat behind him. Joon turned his head to glance at Myungsoo then turned around to look at you.

“You were with him? Boys here are dangerous. You shouldn’t be alone with them. Especially this one.”

“Excuse me?” Myungsoo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s a trouble maker. I don’t think you should-” Joon was cut off as Myungsoo smacked him in the back of the head.

“Hey! Respect your elders!” Joon yelled, letting go of you and whirling around to face Myungsoo. You couldn’t help but laugh, and covered your mouth with your face. Myungsoo caught a look at you laughing and felt his heart skip a beat.

“Eyes to yourself! Come on. I was supposed to take you to the High Mage so he could talk to you about your studies and training.”

Myungsoo smiled at you and bowed slightly as you smiled back and bowed before Joon grabbed you by the shoulders and dragged you away.

--

You and Seungho discussed your training and schooling, and you voiced your concerns about not having any powers. At least, not ones that you knew about anyway.

Seungho grinned at you and stood up from his desk. He was rather tall, and you still couldn’t understand what it was about him that made you feel like sitting up a little bit straighter and speaking more politely.

“Well. There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go to the training grounds.”

--

“Hey, look. It’s Myungsoo’s girlfriend,” Myungsoo’s sparring partner and best friend, Sungyeol said as the High Mage walked into the training grounds with you trailing behind him, looking like a lost puppy. “I can’t blame you for liking her, though. She’s cute.”

Myungsoo stopped what he was doing and watched the High Mage talk to Byunghee for a moment before Byunghee cleared off half of the training grounds for them. “She eats a lot,” Myungsoo said absentmindedly.

“What’s going on?” Sungyeol asked as Byunghee ran over to him.

“Seungho is going to try and force the Arch Mage’s powers to reveal themselves. He says she’s never really been in life threatening danger, so that’s probably why she has no idea they exist or how to use them.”

“The Arch Mage is supposed to be able to use all four elements in magic, right?” Sungyeol asked, leaning on Myungsoo’s shoulder.

“Yes, along with their passive power of draining life from the living, and one power unique to them.” Everyone watched as Seungho said a few words to you, and you stood there as he walked a distance away.

“I’ll try not to hurt you! Keyword being try,” Seungho yelled across the distance. Your eyes went wide as you started to panic.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Just try not to get hit!” Before you could even open your mouth to protest, a fireball came flying at you. You yelped and ran out of the way, turning back to give Seungho a look of disbelief.

“What is he doing?” Myungsoo asked, watching as you yelled and ran around all over the place to avoid Seungho’s attacks. He stepped forward to go help you, but Byunghee pushed him back with a smile on his face.

“Don’t worry. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Clearly, but she doesn’t have a clue about what she’s doing!” He watched you trip and fall and winced.

Seungho bounced a fireball in his hands before smiling at you from across the training ground and hurling it at you. You watched it get closer and threw your hands up to shield yourself. Nothing ever hit you, though. Instead, you heard a sound like hissing steam and looked up to see a wall of water in front of you.

You gasped in surprise and scooted back as the wall of water fell and disappeared.

“That’s one down,” Seungho said, readying up more attacks.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. What? One? You mean I have more than one power?”

“You have five, so we have four more to go!”

--

Everyone stopped training to watch Seungho attack you with various attacks as you ran away and tried to retain some dignity by not screaming all of the time. You only screamed when the attacks came a little bit too close for comfort.

By now, Seungho managed to discover your wind power after he forced you into the edge of the training area, and you fell into the pit. Your wind power saved you from falling and even gently placed you back down on solid land as you hugged it and cried a little bit.

You returned the favor by discovering your earth power and ripping a fissure right underneath him. Byunghee complained loudly about how good training areas were hard to come by until Seungho fixed the fissure to get him to shut up.

“You mad at me yet?” Seungho bounced a fireball up and down in his hand. You shook your head, ready to run again. You were more terrified of him than angry.

“That’s a pity. You probably have this power too, to throw fireballs, so I suppose I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for that. So now, all we have left is your personal power, unique to you.” You blinked once, and Seungho was right in front of you. He shoved at you, and you tripped and fell back onto the ground.

He grabbed your throat and pinned you down to the ground, kneeling beside your body with an amused look on your face.

“He’s going to kill her!” Myungsoo yelled, taking another step forward. Byunghee was hesitant about this. They had no idea what her unique power would be.

You struggled and gasped for air as Seungho stared at you coldly and pressed down harder. Suddenly, your hand flew up to his chest, and he went flying back, sliding across the ground as you took in a deep breath of air.

Byunghee ran for Seungho while Myungsoo and the others ran for you. You had your hand on your chest as you sat up and tried to catch your breath. “Are you okay?” Myungsoo asked in concern. You nodded, your eyes wide. You were just incredibly tired and wobbled, even as you were sitting. Myungsoo held you steady, careful not to touch your skin.

Seungho sat up and shook his head to clear it up. Byunghee grabbed his shoulder and yelped as he was shocked by electricity. Seungho looked down, and there was a smoking hole right over his heart where his armor melted.

“Well then. Lightning. An equally destructive unique power. I had a feeling,” Seungho said as Byunghee finally helped him to his feet and over to you. “No hard feelings?” Seungho asked, extending his hand to help you up. A space cleared as you gave a shaky laugh and reached up to take his hand.

“No. I’m just... really... tired...” You fell forward, and Myungsoo caught you, eye widening in alarm.

“Joon!” Seungho yelled. Joon appeared in an instant and stared at your passed out self with worry.

“What happened?” he asked as he took you from Myungsoo. He carried you bridal style while raising his eyebrows up at Seungho.

“Just power manifestations and such. Take her to her room, and let her rest. Make sure she has enough to eat later when she wakes up.”

As Joon left, Seungho noted the look of longing on Myungsoo’s face and smiled.

--

When you woke up later, your entire body ached. You moved your limbs a little bit and groaned as they protested. That was the most physical activity you’d ever done in your life, and you felt so tired, you just wanted to go back to sleep for the next three days. The only thing that stopped you from doing just that was growling at you.

“You slept an entire day. Here, I thought you might be hungry.” You turned your head to see Joon walk in with a tray piled with food. You groaned as you forced yourself to sit up. Joon placed the tray on your lap, and you sighed heavily as you willed your arms to pick up the eating utensils.

“You look like you’re in pain,” Joon said with a grin. You didn’t even have the energy to scowl at him as you ate.

“I am so sore and so tired,” you said, letting your hands fall back down on the tray and closing your eyes again.

“That’s normal. You didn’t get a ton of exercise back in Armalis, right? And using your powers for the first time can be pretty draining, but don’t worry! You’ll get used to it. Seungho said that your training and lessons will start next week, so you have the rest of this week to do as you please.”

“Oh, so I get to sleep for the rest of the week.”

“That’s such a waste! How about I take you out to the marketplace? The merchants just came back with a new load of things to buy.” You pursed your lips. Seungho said that the people around the town knew who you were, so if you wanted to buy anything, you could just take it, and they would be paid later. He said it wasn’t lady like to carry money around.

“Maybe tomorrow,” you said, staring down at the plates of food. Joon talked aimlessly about things while you ate, and you were only half listening until he mentioned Myungsoo.

“... And I don’t particularly like how Myungsoo looks at you. That kid’s been trouble since day one. Seungho says it’s because he’s a genius or something and has creative ways to express himself, but I’m usually the one that has to clean up after his messes.” Joon was never going to forget the chicken coop incident, not for as long as he was living.

“He seems nice,” you said lightly. Joon furrowed his eye brows at you and gave you a stern look.

“Don’t go falling for his pretty boy looks. He’s dangerous. And besides, there are tons more attractive and eligible men in Rivedon. Which you’ll meet them all at the formal ball to introduce you as the Arch Mage. You can’t go falling for every pretty face that compliments you.” You made a face and finished off the rest of your food, Joon still eyeing you like you were a freak.

“But don’t worry. The ball won’t be until you know more about the kingdom, and you have a firm grasp of your powers. Just, uh, take your time. No need to rush.” You blinked a few times at Joon as a smile slowly appeared on your face.

“What? What’s with the look?” Joon raised an eyebrow and picked up your empty tray.

“Is this what it’s like to have an older brother?” He blinked at you a few times. An older brother? He never really thought of himself as an older brother to you. He was just your attendant.

“I... I don’t really know? I grew up by myself until Seungho took me in. But if you want me to be your older brother, I can. Family is nice to have...” His voice trailed off as he stared off into the distance.

“Yeah, family is nice to have,” you said quietly, thinking about your sister. Joon blinked a few times before furrowing his eyebrows at you.

“In that case, fail all your lessons and never learn to use your powers. I don’t want those grubby hands anywhere near you.”

And when you laughed, Joon couldn’t help but smile.