Ara gasped for air as the smoke billowed towards her. Bright orange flames surrounded the girl and there was nothing Ara could do. The old woman that frequently appeared in Ara's dreams was present, cackling with laughter as the flames the bed frame.

Ara jolted awake, feeling the sweat drip down her forehead. A nightmare again. She took a deep breath before realising that something was wrong. Not a dream, her nightmare was not just a dream. Her dressing table was on fire and the flames were slowly engulfing her wadrobe as well. The flames were rising higher and higher and there was no way Ara could reach around them for the door. The air was getting thicker and Ara felt herself losing her breath. The girl leapt out of bed.

" Someone help! There's a fire here. Please, someone please help me! " Ara started to panic when there was no answer. She dashed towards the huge balcony and halted. The ground was too far below but there was no other way for escape. Jump or die?

Turning back, Ara knew that she had no other choice. Her room was practically covered in flames and the heat was getting unbearable. All the dust particles in the air were blurring Ara's vision and her eyes were watering badly. The ash trapped in the girl's lungs made it harder for her to breathe as the seconds went by. Ara tried to steady her shaking hands as she climbed gingerly over the banister. She shut her eyes and let herself fall, forcing herself to remain in an upright position. 

" Thump "

She let out a groan as pain shot up her side. Gritting her teeth, Ara flipped over and tried to stand up on the grass covered lawn. She looked up at her room which was filled with smoke and realised that there were still many others in the house. The fire could spread to all the rooms in a matter of time. Just as she was about to re-enter the mansion, a sense of warmth spreaded to her fingertips.

The Heart of the Ocean, Ara.

Ara had never used her powers before. She did not have a single clue as to how it works but this time, she knew that she had no choice.Closing her eyes, Ara allowed her mind to take over and slowly lifted up her hands. Almost immediately, the water from the pond beside the mansion rose up in a spiral motion and with all her effort, Ara directed the water towards the flaming room. The fire was instantly put out and Ara sank on the ground feeling extremely weak.

" Ara! "

" what happened! "

The rest of the guardians came rushing out of the mansion and spotted Ara lying limply on the lawn.

" Was there a fire in your room? "

" How did it start? "

" Holy hippo, did you just put it out with your powers? "

" Shut up! " Kris roared when everyone began bombarding the weak girl with questions. Kai hurried to help Ara up while everyone stared incredulously at the girl, waiting for an answer.

" What happened? " Kris turned to Ara and whispered.

" I don't know... I was sleeping and when I woke up, flames were everywhere. I jumped ot of the balcony and somehow, I managed to control the water and the fire died out. " Ara mumbled as she struggled to not put too much weight on Kai who was supporting her.

" Chanyeol, did you start the fire? " Kris questioned the guardian who had the gift of fire.

" Are you crazy? Why would I try to kill Ara? " Chanyeol gasped sounding hurt.

Everyone fell silent. This was obviously an attempt to hurt Ara and if Ara had not woken up, things might have gotten serious. 

" Someone's trying to harm Ara. She's not safe, even in our mansion. " Kai snarled under his breath. " Could it be you, by any chance? " Kai turned to an astonished Naeyong and narrowed his eyes.

" I, would never ever do such a thing. " Naeyong hissed.

" I'm alright now, let it go Kai. " Ara took a deep breath to steady herself. She had not gotten over the shock yet but Ara could feel her heart rate slowly subsiding.

" What happens now? " Chen queried, looking up at Ara's damaged room. 

" Naeyong, do you mind sharing your room with Ara? " Kris turned to Naeyong.

" I have issues with sharing a room with others. " Naeyong immediately responded. Share a room with Ara? Over my dead body.

Kris frowned and glanced at the uncomfortable faces around him. He knew that none of the guys with the exception of Kai felt comfortable with a girl like Ara being in their room. And there was no way in hell Kris would allow Kai to share a room with Ara.

" I guess you can share my room. There's a couch and I'll take it, in case you're worried. " he finally decided.

Kai choked while Ara widened her eyes. " Are you sure you don't mind? "

" Ara can sleep with me! " Naeyong cut in before Kris could reply.

" But you just said that you didn't - "

" Naeyong, we have had enough of your bull already. " Tao sneered. " Why can't you just tell the truth for once? "

" Zip it guys, it's 2 in the morning. Not appropriate for any quarrels. " Kris warned. " Everyone go back to sleep and Ara, you follow me. "

Kai shot a look at the leader before grudgingly returning to his room with the others. " Offering to share his room? That isn't something Kris normally did. " He muttered to himself. 

Naeyong glared at Ara but there wasn't anything she could do. 

-

" I'll take the couch. It's already very nice of you to share your room with me. " Ara said softly.

" I was brought up to treat ladies right. " Kris retorted without looking at her. He stalked over to the couch and sat heavily on it. He was in a wife beater and pants and Ara blushed, realising that she was in her sleeping tank top as well. 

" Night. " He lay down and turned to his side. From the bed, Ara could see his back. " N-night. " 

Kris tossed and turned for hours, unable to fall asleep.He turned and looked at the girl. Her shoulders were heaving up and down slowly and he knew that she had fallen asleep. " Who could have wanted to hurt you, Park Ara. " He whispered. Kris knew that this incident was not an accident. Somehow, someone had managed to penetrate the mansion and reached Ara. This thought deeply unsettled the man and he vowed to get to the bottom of this.

It was already daylight when Kris opened his eyes. He had not managed to get a good sleep last night and it was almost dawn when he managed to fall asleep. Kris stood up and stretched his arms, feeling the ache in his neck. Obviously, the couch was not a comfortable sleeping place. Ara was still huddled under the covers and Kris smiled to himself as he observed her sleeping face. It was completely deviod of makeup and she looked much softer. Her lips were slightly parted and her body was curled up in a fetal position.

" Ara. " He called.

There was no response and he shook his head. 

" Park Ara, wake up now. " He rose his voice.

Ara twitched and grumbled, slamming the pillow over her head.

How dare she, Kris thought to himself. Narrowing his eyes, he moved closer to the sleeping girl and shook her gingerly.

" 5 more minutes ma..... " the muffled voice came out from under the pillow.

Kris sighed and rolled his eyes. 

" I'm not your mother and this is not your room, in case you've forgotten. "

Ara gasped and immediately sat up straight, startling Kris. 

" Sorry! " she jumped out of his bed and bowed continuously. " Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry I'm so - "

" Say sorry one more time and I'll shut your mouth personally. " Kris sighed again and gestured for Ara to enter the bathroom. " I'll share Xiumin's bathroom and you can use mine for the time being. " He strode out of the room and shut the door behind him.

It was almost half an hour later when Ara joined the guys for breakfast. There was an unusually tense atmosphere in the air. Everyone was all upset that someone had managed to barge into the Guardian's mansion unnoticed.

" You better not wander anywhere by youself. You hear me? " Kai turned to Ara. She nodded somberly.

" We'll watch out for you! " Chen assured her while Luhan and D.O nodded in agreement.

Naeyong narrowed her eyes as everyone fussed over Ara. 

" Training in 10 minutes. " Kris reminded while the guys wolfed down the remains of breakfast. Ara felt nervous, remembering her previous experience during training. " Don't worry, I'll make sure that Naeyong doesn't get paired up with you for combat. I swear to god. " Kai murmered in a low voice when he realised what Ara was thinking. She managed a small smile at him and nodded thankfully.

Just a short update! 

P.s Naeyong is based on someone that I disliked many years ago psssh.