“No… no, Mama, no…”

  “Johnny.” Andrea put her hands over the 6-year-old boy’s ears and hid his face in the hem of her skirt. “This isn’t for you to see.”

  “But mommy she – “

  “Sshh.”

  If the guards on the other side of the door saw a boy calling ‘mommy’ to a woman who was being surrounded by the SS Team, short for the Special Situation Team – Andrea thought it was lame name – , they might take him away, too.

  Because his mother, Bethany, had been Marked.

  “Impossible…” Andrea could hear her whimpering on the other side of the door. “How can this happen?”

  “Madam Brighten, have you ever in this past month, made contact with a Stargazer – “

  “OF COURE I HAVE NOT!” Bethany screamed, holding her left hand as far away from herself as possible, and that’s when Andrea saw the mark for the first time with her own eyes:

  The symbol of a crescent moon, with a star in the empty space and three spirals along the other side, on the back of her left hand.

  The mark of a Stargazer.

  Andrea gasped, and she instinctively touched the part of her skin that was underneath her left collarbone. 

  “Stargazers. That’s what people call those who are banned from this realm, those who are rumored to possess… special abilities. Magic powers. Because they are supposed to be thrown into prison or banished, if one were to be spotted here, he or she… should be captured immediately.” Rick’s words flashed through Andrea’s mind.

  “Normal people can become Stargazers, too, if they get marked. Whether marked because one wants to become one, or marked because a Stargazer had forcefully chosen a normal human being for some specific reason… once one is marked, Andrea, he or she shall forever become a Stargazer… until death.”

  “Please calm down, madam,” the head of the team attempted to grab ahold of her, but in vain. “Calm down and let us – “

  “NOOO!” She shrieked, eyes wide and bloodshot, making Andrea cringe in the dark room she was hiding in. “I AM NOT ONE OF THEM!”

  “You have been chosen by one and Marked.”

  “NOOO! I DO NOT KNOW WHY THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE ME AWAY – “

  Suddenly, a clutter of rushed, heavy footsteps erupted, followed by a muffling sound and something that sounded like someone screaming into another’s hand. Andrea knew what was happening, and a sudden rush of adrenaline surged through her.

  She wanted to help Bethany. She couldn’t just stand here and let her be taken away.

  Tightening her grip to hide little Johnny’s crying, she quietly put her hand on the wooden door and prepared to swing into action –

  When all of a sudden, a hand appeared in her sight, covered and dragged her back into the darkness of the room.

***

  Andrea was too shocked to scream. That, and the fact that she couldn’t recognize the owner of the hand over .

  “Stay still.” It was a boy’s voice, deep and rich as honey at the same time. She swore she had heard this voice before, but she couldn’t remember who it was. And the darkness of the room wasn’t even helping her –

  Until he shifted a little, and the tiny beam of light from the other room fell upon him. She saw his dark, wavy hair first, then his tan skin, and eventually, his eyes. Her breath hitched in when she immediately recognized who he was.

  The prince’s personal guard and best friend.

  The 18 year-old, breathtakingly handsome head of the Royal Guards.

  Kim Jongin.

  “Don’t,” he hissed when she tried to squirm. “I’m saving your life.”

  Suddenly angered, Andrea pried his hand off with all her might and ignored the startled look on his face. “You’re saving my life? I don’t think you understand the situation here,” she clenched her teeth, “but Bethany is the one who needs saving! She’s about to be taken – “

  In a flash, Jongin grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them to the wall behind her. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand.” He kept his voice low, eyes flashing with firmness. “If you reveal yourself, they might take you away, too.”

  “I’m not Marked.”

  “Those people out there grab before asking. Not the other way around. You might be interrogated and tortured until only have of your life is left until they realize you are not a Stargazer.” Studying her, he sighed. “I know you want to save her, Andrea, but it’s out of your power. You have to think of her son, too.” His gaze flickered to the little boy who was still clinging to her dress, face stained with tears. “Do you want to expose him?”

  Talking a big gulp, Andrea shook her head. The world around her was spinning, but whether it was because of the closeness between her and Jongin or the genuine concern flashing in his eyes, she couldn’t figure out.

  She still remembered the first time she saw this boy, and how his actions had given her a bad impression. But this boy, this boy in front of her… he wasn’t as cold and arrogant as she thought. Instead, he was quite the opposite.

  He was so… reasonable. He could have just let her be taken away, but instead, he decided to stop her from doing something that stupid.

  Did he have two personalities? Or, as though Andrea wouldn’t like admitting, she had thought him wrong?

  “Good.” She didn’t see his mouth move, but she could still hear his voice. It somehow made her feel weird, as if she couldn’t concentrate on steadying herself. Or maybe it was just because she wasn’t used to being this close to a boy. Still, she managed to stay quiet, looking anywhere but his face, afraid she would start staring at him like she did when talking to the prince earlier.

  They stayed like that, Andrea with her back to the wall, trying to not notice the little space between her and Jongin; while he was staring at her. He was drinking in everything of her, her black hair with a light shade of brown, her long, curly eyelashes, the raging concern in her unique eyes the color of violet, her facial features…

  What seemed like an eternity later, no sound was to be heard again in the kitchen, indicating the guards gone.

  With Bethany taken prisoner. Or worse, sent to interrogation. But Andrea knew she was innocent. She had known her for a whole year.

  She couldn’t stand it anymore and pushed Jongin away harshly. “I can’t believe – “she kept her voice from breaking, “– that you made me stand here and let someone be taken.”

  “I told you; there’s nothing you could have done.”

  “I could have at least tried.” If he weren’t the head of the Royal Guards, she would have given him a punch in his pretty face. “The cruelest thing to do is to stand by the sides doing nothing – “

  “I was saving your life!” Jongin hit the wall beside Andrea’s head with his fist. “Why are you being so ungrateful – “

  “Oh, so I should thank you for blocking my way to save a friend?”

  “You should thank me for preventing you from disappearing from this world!”

  “My friend is more important – “

  “Think of yourself, too, dammit!” Frustrated, Jongin swore, which only made Andrea even more angry. Why was this boy, who had never even spoken to her before, care so much about saving her life? Why was he that… merciless, forcing her to watch a friend be taken away?

  “Andrea – “

  “How do you even know my name?” Andrea froze, suddenly realizing. “I’ve never even met you face-to-face before, but here you’re acting like you know me.”

  Jongin looked shocked and surprised, as if he had just let slip something he shouldn’t have let another know. She watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down once. “I… I – “

  “Kai?”

  A voice that belonged to neither of them caused Andrea and Kim Jongin to snap their heads and jump apart from each other immediately. She couldn’t make out the figure in the dark, but his voice and the familiar feeling whenever he was around was already enough to recognize.

  “Baek.” Jongin stole one last glance at Andrea before walking over to Baekhyun’s side.

  “Didn’t you say you came to check out on the disruption?” Baekhyun asked Kai, his gaze not leaving Andrea, confusion flashing in his eyes. “And what… what were you two – “

  “A woman was found Marked, and was struggling against the arrest.” Kai stared into the darkness behind Baekhyun’s shoulder. “And she is just a plain villager who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

***

  “Where in the world did you go – Andy? Andy!” Lucas panicked, taking in Andrea’s face as white as a sheet when he found her walking out of the backdoor of The Shabby Shack. “Are you alright?!”

  She turned her head before looking at him. “Luke.”

  “Okay, at least you know who I am.” He breathed a sigh of relief, before grabbing Andrea by her shoulders. “Why do you look like you had just seen a ghost?”

  Not a ghost, Andrea thought. Just the prince. And the head of the Royal Guards.

  “Okay, the look on your face just turned from dazed to pissed.” Before she could start complaining of how that ignorant Kim Jongin blocked her way, Lucas spoke up again. “Did you hear the scream? What was that about? I swear, people came swarming out the shack and I was so terrified when I couldn’t find you and then I thought it was you – “

  “Bethany.” A lump formed in Andrea’s throat. “It was Bethany. She was… she was Marked.”

  “Bob’s wife?!” Lucas exclaimed. “She… how…?”

  “I don’t know, she was shocked herself, too.”

  “So she wasn’t aware of it?”

  Andrea shook her head, squeezing her eyes to stop the tears from falling out. “I tried to… I wanted to stop the Team from taking her away, but someone stopped me…” her voice eventually broke, and tears started streaming down the sides of her face.

  “Andy…” she felt herself be pulled in Lucas’ warm embrace, his strong arms wrapped around her. “I know you want to defend for her… but if she was marked, then it’s not something you can change anymore…”

  Andrea groaned and pulled away. “At least let me put some sense into the guards that she isn’t a spy or something! She wasn't aware that she had been marked! Dammit, why do you boys all think the same that I shouldn’t have at least tried?!”

  “Because it’s no use,” Lucas replied as-a-matter-of-factly. “And what do you mean, boys? Who was it that stopped your epic rescue?”

  She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”

  “Why? Did he do anything to you?!” He raised his voice.

  “No.” Andrea gave him a funny look, but then suddenly recalled the closeness of their bodies and the heat that had emanated from Kai. She swiped the ridiculous thoughts and memory away. “He’s just somebody you hate.”

  “Someone I would love to punch?”

  “And step on that royal cloak of his. Yes.”

  Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. “Who – holy .” He clenched his teeth. “Kim Jongin?”

  Andrea nodded. “Bingo.”

  “That bastard that – “

  “Hey, Luke.” She sighed a heavy and tired sigh. “Can you save the cursing for another day? I need… I think I’ve had enough shock for the day.”

  Lucas studied her for a moment, then frowned. “Don’t tell me there’s more. Please don’t tell me something else happened when I left you to go in that shack alone.”

  The prince happened. And I kept staring at him like a lunatic, by the way. “Well, congratulations, something happened. And as much as I know how curious you are, I’m too tired to tell you right now.” She started walking away from the village. “Bye, Luke.”

  Lucas groaned.

***

  The horse neighed.

  “I know, Lightning.” Kai patted his horse. “That was absurd.”

  “Talking to Lightning again, Kai?” Baekhyun joked, walking out of the Shabby Shack and smiling a sympathetic smile at a heart-broken Bob. “And I thought you planned on marrying a lady, not your horse.”

  “She knows me the second best,” Kai said as he patted Lightning again. “Besides, the one who knows me the best is a prince, and I’m not so sure if he’s willing to accept my hand.”

  Baekhyun playfully hit Kai in the shoulder and laughed. “Maybe in the next life, when I’m a lady.”

  Kai grinned. “So,” he mounted on Lightning, “gained anything?”

  The smile on the prince’s face turned into a frown. “It turns out that Rick Archer had died three months ago.”

  “What?!”

  “Exactly. Another shocking fact is that he has a daughter.” Baekhyun eyed Kai, who had his eyes widened. “And she’s the one who was hiding with you previously.”

  Andrea is… Rick’s daughter?! Kai gulped. “I told you, Baek. She was about to run out and stupidly put herself in danger. I didn’t know she was his daughter.”

  “Well, she is.” Baekhyun sighed, seemingly in thought. “And by what I had collected from a few villagers, nobody had known her existence until one year ago. One day, he just walked into the village and introduced her as his daughter he had hidden for 16 years. Which of course, shocked everybody.”

  “Who is the mother?” Kai asked.

  Baekhyun shook his head. “Nobody knows. He never mentioned. But… but you know what, Kai?”

  “What?”

  “She has… she has eyes the color of violet.”

  “I know – “Kai stopped himself too late.

  “You know?” Baekhyun halted his horse, Pegasus, and faced Kai fully. “How do you know? Have you seen her before? Because for the record, this is the first time I’ve ever met this girl. I don’t even know her name.”

  Kai hesitated. “Andrea. Her name is… Andrea.”

  “And how do you know that, Kai? Or have you just stopped running to me whenever you saw uncommon things, like a girl with violet eyes?”

  “Baek…” Kai moisture his lips, confused. Surely Baekhyun was always curious, but… but this time he was so curious, even demanding about her? It wasn’t like him at all. “I heard someone call to her when I entered the shack before you.” Which was true, but not the actual truth of how he knew her name. “And I know of her eyes because I saw them when stopping her.”

  After a minute of silence, Baekhyun let out a heavy breath. “Right. Right… that’s it. I’m sorry, Kai, it’s just… I don’t know, that girl – Andrea, she… I don’t know. I don’t even know why I’m acting like this. I’m sorry. She’s just another village girl, right?”

  Kai helped change the topic. “Right. And about that woman who was Marked…”

  This time, the prince let out a frustrated groan. “This is getting crazy. More and more people are getting Marked. What does this even mean?”

  “I’m confused, too.” Kai frowned. “But I assure you, Baek. We’ll get to the bottom of all this. Hopefully.”

Author's Note:

I KNOW. It's all so confusing. BUAHAHAHAHAHA that's what suspense/fantasy/action/romance stories usually are... right? OvO

In two weeks I have my finals (OMG JUST SHOOT ME), so if I'm lucky, I'll be able to update Chapter 3 next week~~ and it'll be a filler!! A VERY IMPORTANT FILLER. HEHE. ANTICIPATE IT, OHKAI? And um, if there are any problems, like JEEZ LADY YOUR STORY IS SO CONFUSING DO YOU THINK I HAVE THREE HEADS or OMG LADY PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS PART COZ I DON'T UNDERSTAND or you guys just have any suggestions, feel free to comment! <3

LOVE YOU PEOPLE.