Taemin hurries into what I suppose is now ‘my’ room first, picking up two flat pillows and fluffing them before putting them beside a low table. “Come sit here, noona,” he smiles, sitting down cross-legged on his own pillow.

Glancing at the other two behind me, I do as he asks, protectively drawing my knees up to my chest.

Kibum whispers something to Minho, who disappears again. He sits on the other side of the table, watching me cautiously.

I look back and him, just as wary. “If I ask you something, will you answer and tell me the truth?”

“I can try, but there are some things I won’t be able to.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not allowed to. I had to give my word I wouldn’t,” he admits.

“Great. That’s convenient,” I scoff. “Fine. First question, can you touch your tongue to your nose?”

From the look on Kibum’s face, that’s the exact opposite of what he was expecting. “Excuse me?”

“Can you touch your tongue to your nose? Simple question.”

“Fine. No, I can’t, see?” With a roll of his eyes, he demonstrates. “Want to tell me the use of that?”

I shrug. “Seeing if you’re really going to tell me the truth. Next. Is your name really Kibum?”

He nods.

“Are you human?”

Kibum shakes his head.

“Then what are you?”

“You don’t have a name for what I am,” he replies. “Best answer I can give you is that along with Minho and Taemin, we are sons of the Eastern Dragon King. Yixing is a son of the Southern Dragon if you were wondering." 

I frown. “So you’re...dragons....and princes?”

“No, not all of us. Being a child of a dragon doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a dragon as well. A child with the potential to be a dragon is only born every thousand years or so and it’s only those children that can be princes. Currently, there are only two princes in each of the four families. The rest of us are just high-ish members of the court.”

“But you have to have magic,” I point out, pointing at Taemin. “He’s your brother, right? He can turn into a dog and a cat.”

“Actually, I can turn into any animal I want,” Taemin pipes up. “I used to-”

“Not yet, Taemin,” Kibum tells him, warning him with a look. Focusing on me, he says, “Yes, we’re half brothers along with Minho and Jonghyun and yes, have ‘magic’ because of our father and our mothers. If we’re not dragon children, we have gifts similar to those of our mothers, who are what you’d call nymphs or fairies or angels, for lack of better words.”

I size him up, feeling only a little relief that I don’t have to worry about him turning into a dragon. “What’re your powers then? And Minho’s?”

“Minho hyung controls metal,” Taemin answers, moving his hands to demonstrate.

“As for me,” Kibum says. “I can do a little bit of everything, but I specialize in glamors. Illusions, if you will.”

Nodding as I process these fantastical details, I try, “Why am I here?”

“And now we come to what I can’t tell you,” he sighs, wincing a little. “I also can’t tell you how long you’ll be here for.”

“Fine. How long have I been here so far then?”

“Two days; the sleeping charm I used was too strong,” he replies slowly, giving me a cautious look. “You are taking this all way too calmly, especially after how you reacted before. You’re not mad or scared? Nothing? Did Jonghyun do something to you?”

“No. He just gave me some advice,” I say, looking away. “The less fuss I make, the more quickly this will go and the sooner I wake up.”

Kibum starts to say something else, but stops when Minho comes back in the room, carrying a small, sealed chest in his arms.

I watch closely as he sits beside Kibum and puts his hand over the chest’s clasp, trying to hide my surprise when the metal shifts to form a small handle.
With another glance at me, Kibum lifts the lid and reaches in, pulling out several seemingly ordinary items to place them in front of me.


“Hyung,” Taemin says breathlessly, his large eyes darting between the objects, Kibum and me. “How did you get these? Doesn’t J-”

Minho cuts him off with a look.

I look between the three of them, venturing, “Jonghyun?”

Kibum shakes his head. “Do you any of these look familiar?”

“You just pulled them out of a box I’ve never seen. Why would I?”

“Humor me.”

Rolling my eyes, I glance the five items on the table again. “Nope.”

“You didn’t even look at them properly. Try picking them up.”

“Yes, Your Royal Nagginess,” I mutter under my breath, making Taemin and Minho chuckle.

Kibum ignores them, keeping careful watch on my face.

I sigh and pick up the closest object. I can’t help admiring the craftsmanship of wooden comb, the swirls on the handle roughly carved but flowing easily with the natural flow of wood grain. “Pretty.”

    Setting it down, I move to the next, a small, slightly chipped figure of a running horse, forever frozen in gray stone. After examining it, I put it back down and pick up a square of blue cloth. Chinese characters sewn in black thread now faded to soft gray flow across it’s surface. As I look at the characters, they seem to blur.

Leaning back and shaking my head, I look up, confused and a little uncomfortable when I notice all three of them watching me intently with expectant, hopeful expressions. “What?”

“Nothing,” Minho says, shaking his. “Please keep going.”

    Shrugging, I pick up a smooth river rock, tilting my hand and smiling to myself as the light flickers in the many facets of the small crystals embedded in the rock’s surface. When I reach for the last object, I hesitate before picking it up and holding it close to my face.

“I’ve seen this before,” I say softly, unconsciously twisting my mouth as I try to place the familiarity of the small box, turning it over in my hand. I vaguely hear someone’s sharp intake of breath, but I can’t take my attention away from the box.

    The dark golden wood of the small, hexagonal box is soft with age, making the inlay of mother-of-pearl shine even brighter. The bright material creates a scene of mountain peaks and flying cranes circling the wood in an endless cycle. I run my fingers along the sides, trying to find the lid, but the wood seems seamless. As I look at it, the memory of the box still teasing my mind, my thumb presses into the snow covered peak of one of the mountains.

    I jump in surprise as the top pops up with a tiny click. Carefully, I unscrew the lid and reach inside, my fingertips meeting cool stone and stiff leather. Pulling on the double cord, I lift the necklace to eye level. The light blue-green jade pendant is no bigger than a bottle cap, the intricately layered petals looking ready to curl if I touched them.

“There’s something missing,” I frown, bringing it closer. Gently, I put the tip of a finger against a small indent in the center of the flower, my eyes becoming unfocused as I continue gazing at it. “Something’s supposed to be here...”

“What should be there?” Kibum asks softly.

I blink. “How should I know? I’m just guessing. With that space there, it seems like there was a gem or something there.”

A shadow of a frown crosses his face before he presses, “But you said you’ve seen this box before. Do you remember where?”

Looking back the box, I reply, “A museum, maybe? I may be just imagining things.” Reaching for it, I start putting the necklace back inside only to find myself incredibly reluctant to do so.

A hand stops mine. “Try putting it on,” Minho suggests.

“I can’t. It’s not mine.”

“It’s all right. Go ahead,” he says, coaxing me with his eyes.

    Not needing much more encouragement, I undo the clasp and put it on. The leather is softer than I expected, but the stone is also surprisingly warm where it rests just below the hollow of my neck. I reach up to make sure I’m not just imagining things. As my fingers brush the indent again, I feel ghost fingers cupping mine. A face flashes in front of mine in an instant, leaving only the impression of tender golden eyes.

“Noona? Are you all right?” Taemin asks worriedly when I jerk my fingers away from the necklace.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, rubbing my eyes.

When I reach to remove the necklace, Kibum puts out a hand. “Why don’t you just leave it on? It looks good on you.”

“But won’t whoever this belongs to miss it?” I ask, startling myself with a sudden feeling of happiness at the prospect of keeping it.

He shakes his head, putting the lid back on the box. “It’s owner left a long time ago. Someone’s just been keeping it for her.”

“Doesn’t that mean she’s coming back?”

“She might, but even if she does, I think she’d want you to have it.”

“Who was she?” I ask, growing curious about this mysterious woman.

“Someone one of our elder brothers loved very, very much,” Minho says.

I open my mouth to ask another question, but Kibum guesses it before I speak and answers, “She loved our brother as well, but it wasn’t her choice to leave.”

“Oh...So, what was the point of this? Or is that another item on the ‘Things Thou Must Not Tell Lily’ list?”

He rolls his eyes and begins carefully putting everything back in the chest. “It was a test of sorts.”

“Did I pass?”

“Kind of.”

“Does that mean I get out of here sooner?” I ask, grasping at a faint hope.

“No.”

“It was worth a shot,” I sigh. “Am I confined to this room for however long?”

“You’re not a prisoner,” Minho hurries to assure me. “It’s just best for you to stay here.”

“Why?” I question.

“Reasons.”

“Okay...” Confused even more than before, I decide to let it drop.

“Do you want to get out of those clothes?” Kibum suddenly asks, looking me up and down. “A bath might do you some good too.”

I look down at myself and nod. “Can...can I have something to eat too?”

“Of course,” he says. “We were going to do all that before this, but then you ran off. Taemin, you help her with her clothes while Minho and I take care of the rest.”

“Are you going to put those back too?” Taemin asks, nodding towards the chest in Minho’s lap.

Kibum’s face gains a sad smile. “Yes.”

We both watch the other two get up and leave before we look at each other.

“Do you like green?” Taemin asks with a smile, standing to walk over to a large wardrobe.

“It’s my favorite color,” I reply, unsure if I should follow him or not.

“Good.” Glancing back at me, he adds apologetically, “I’m really sorry, but we don’t have any of your kind of clothes. Would you mind wearing things like ours?”

“Umm...” I let my eyes glance over his loose slacks, tunic, and vest. “I guess not. What is it called anyway?”

“A hanbok,” he replies happily, opening the wardrobe to being rummaging through it. “Hmm, this should work. Do you like this one?”

Standing, I walk over to run my hand over the fine, seedling green and cream material that he holds out. “How do I wear it?”

“Oh, right. I forgot you don’t know. I’ll show you.”

Shedding his tunic, Taemin proceeds to put on piece after piece, patiently explaining each one.

When he’s finished, I can’t help giggling. “You look really pretty.”

He just laughs and spins around, the wide skirt billowing and making me laugh too.

======

“Do you think she’ll really be ready?” Minho whispers, quietly setting the large basin of water down to watch the scene through the crack of the door with Kibum. “We’re asking her to remember an entire lifetime in two days.”

“We have no choice,” Kibum sighs. “You heard Father. That’s all the time we have. She remembered something when she saw the necklace. Maybe if she keeps wearing it she’ll remember more. She has to.”