I stared at his serene face as he slept against the tall tree. His head was titled to one side and a soft snore came out from him. I smiled and gently brushed his copper coloured fringe to one side and then, refusing to stop there, I began tracing his nose and then his lush lips.

He didn’t flinch at all when I sat beside him and let his head leaned against my shoulder. Kai was sleeping soundly when I arrived here, and if I don’t wake him up, I doubt we’ll have our lesson today. But looking at his face like this, I can’t bear to wake him up at all. He must be tired from patrolling around the Forbidden Forest.

The wind blew softly at our direction. I wanted to shift myself into a much more comfortable position but I accidentally broke a branch and this made Kai’s body jerk. He fluttered his eyelid opened and immediately shifted into Estrovian form.

“Woah, woah. It’s just me. Relax,” I said, raising my hand. He blinked twice, confusion flickered across his eyes but when then smiled again and shifted back into his usual form.

“You – Oh, right. I nearly forgot,” Kai said, scratching the back of his head bashfully. “Let me go and wash up first. Too tired. Wanna come?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure, why not?”

“Don’t fall back. I will not waste my time finding you like a lost child,” he said, smirking.

I meet his gaze challengingly. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

**

“Oh my gosh, the waters are icy cold. How do you guys even shower – ” My words were cut off by Kai as he dipped his entire head into the stream of icy cold running water. My mouth hung wide opened as he flipped his hair off his forehead and continued to cleanse his face. He only stopped when he noticed me staring at him all the time.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Kai touched his face.

“N-no!” I said, turning away from him and pretending to look at the stream.

“We are all used to this water temperature. Nobody showers in hot baths. Unless if you’re a Royal or a noble where a servant helps to heat up your tub.” He explained, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt. I wrinkled my brows and stopped him from wiping further. It made his entire arm soaked with water.

“Stop doing that. You’re making yourself dirtier. Here, use this.” I fished out my handkerchief from my pants pocket and handed it to him. “It’s clean. I didn’t use it before.”

Kai eyed my handkerchief warily before he took it from my fingers and dried his face. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And you may keep that hanky.” I added before he could pass it back to me.

“It’s yours. Why should I take it?” Kai held the wet hanky out, his head cocked to his left, wondering why was I giving him this expression.

“Don’t worry,” I closed my mouth and give him a small smile, gently pushing his hand back. “I have many more of these back at my home.” He lifted a brow, the corners of his lips curled up.

“Thanks for the gift.” Kai said. “I’ll keep it well.”

I let out an awkward laughter. “Y-yea… Sure. So can we start the training now?” Kai folded the handkerchief neatly and slipped it into his own pocket. His eyes scanned the area and then pointed his finger to his right.

“Let’s go there. It’s quieter and less dangerous.” He went off and I trailed behind him. We trekked a little and stopped just a few meters away from the stream. The wind gently tugged at my hair, making it messier than before. Worst of all – I didn’t bring any band to tie up my hair.

“Sit here,” Kai pointed on the ground. I complied obediently, settling myself onto the soft damp ground. “Now straightened your back, cross your legs and close your eyes.” He stood beside me and watched as I did what he told. “Now try to calm your heart down and picture blackness.” I bit down on my lip and furrowed my nose at that instruction. Everything is already black around me. How am I supposed to picture black? My hair slapped my face occasionally and I had to push it behind my ear to the point where it was kind of irritating.

Kai must’ve noticed this. I felt him moving behind me, his knees brushing my head. “Pass me the bracelet that I gave it to you that day. You may take it off now.” I blinked my eyes opened and took the bracelet off. I felt nothing at first and handed it to him.

“Here.”

“Thanks,” he took it. Softly, he grabbed a bulk of my hair pulled it into a ponytail. Using the cotton bracelet, he wrapped it around my hair until it was tight enough not to fall. My heartbeat accelerated again. This is the first time a guy did this to me; tying my hair.

“Okay, I’m done. You may try again.”

I inhaled deeply and exhaled, getting rid of my own fantasies and closed my eyes. “How do I picture darkness?”

“Easy. You just don’t. Just let everything go and think of nothing.”

I did as he told and I felt myself getting lighter and lighter. My ears picked up the sound of the wind blowing in my direction; the sound of the birds that are drinking the water from the stream; the sound of the leaves falling around me.

I could literally feel my sense heightened, one by one. It feels good – awesome even, like after relieving yourself into the toilet cause of your bladder.

“Now,” Kai started. “Picture your Aether Core.”

“Aether Core?” I asked. “What’s that?”

“The Aether Core is your source of Magic. It can be anything that you can imagine. A flower, a candlestick, a glowing flame – anything. As long as you can see it and control it. Your Aether Core is just like your heart and brain. Once it’s destroyed, you’ll die.”

I cringed at the word ‘die’. I’m not prepared for the worst, not just yet. Flicking away the negative thoughts, I pictured my Aether Core – a purplish small little ball surfaced in my head. When I increased its size of the ball, I could the deep pulse of the Magic coursed through me. Instantly, I reduced the size and the pulse became a dull thud.

Just like my heartbeat.

“That’s it.” I heard him say. “Now, don’t open your eyes just yet – try to touch your Aether core and call for it. It’ll activate all your powers. It’s better if you call its real name.”

What’s its real name? Kyung Mi? How am I supposed to know? I gritted my teeth in frustration.

“It’s okay, don’t force yourself. It’ll come naturally.” Kai placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “If you call for your Aether Core, it’ll come to you and eventually you’ll be able to use and control your powers in no time. But for now, just practice mediating.”

“What did you call your Aether Core?” I asked out of curiosity, does his Aether Core’s name is Kai? Or something else?

“Hmm,” he straightened his back and looked straight, looking as if he zoned out. “My Aether Core’s name is – I’ll tell you the next time we meet.”

My shoulders slumped in disappointment. I was anticipating his Aether Core’s name. “So do we call out for our Aether Core’s name when we wanna use our powers?”

“No, because our Aether Core’s name is actually just our real name. Every Estrovian is imprinted with our true name that our parents gave us. It’s like part of our tradition. So if we call out our Core’s name, it’ll boost powers. Very advantages for us. But it's best to keep it a secret though”

I nodded my head… This is even worse. If my Aether Core’s name is the imprinted name – does that mean that it’s Kyung Mi? A strong feeling of determination flood in me. “Let me try calling it again. I think I know.”

Closing my eyes and picturing darkness, the purplish orb danced in front of me, as if beckoning me to go for it. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Kyung Mi.”

I waited. And waited.

Nothing happened.

“Kai…?”

“Yes?”

“What if my Aether Core didn’t respond even when I call using my real name?”

His reply was simple. And pretty obvious. But somehow it seemed so subtle and fake too me. Because all my life I believed the Commander Park is my Dad. But no matter how I view him, he can never be an Estrovian.

“It means that, that isn’t your real name, Kyung Mi-ah.”