“Princess Soonkyu, do you have any questions?” asked the tutor as he stood in front of Sunny with a huge blackboard filled with scribbles behind him.

              Sunny just stared off into a distance, seemingly preoccupied about something else in her thoughts. A book on Fire Nation history was opened on a certain page; it was about her current lesson. The air felt rather stale for she hadn’t spoken a word since the beginning of the long boring session.

              “Princess Soonkyu, were you even listening?” the tutor tapped the hardwood table with his stick to get her attention.

              “Huh?” Sunny finally snapped out of it. “Er, um, I mean, yes.”

              “Do you have any questions?” the tutor repeated in frustration.

              “No,” Sunny answered awkwardly. Then she looked straight at the tutor and asked, “On second thought, I do have a question.”

              “Ask away, Your Highness.”

              “Why did Firelord Soon-Jae replace all of the previous Firelord’s court when he assumed the throne?”

              The tutor blankly looked at her before saying anything. From the way Sunny saw him, it seemed that he was carefully formulating his words. This was not the first time she had seen people react in such a way to her questions. Everyone seemed to be hiding something; they claim to be telling the truth, but not the whole truth. Fear was evident in their eyes, as if something unspeakable happened a long time ago that was buried carefully from public view.

              Since her former fire bending master, Admiral Park Yongwoo, unexpectedly died of poisoning, she had been doing a bit of research by herself. She read all sorts of books and even sneaked into the room of records hoping to find out the cause of the Firelord’s outrage when it came to Agni Kais. She read all about his birth as the second son of Firelord Sooman—titled as a noble Prince endowed with great wisdom and pure heart. Almost every single article related to Firelord Soon-Jae praised his great leadership and benevolence. The only flaw she read about was an odd record about wiping out every single member of the previous Firelord’s court and replacing them all with new people when he assumed the throne. Other than that, everything else was about his seemingly perfect continuing reign. It was too good to be true.

              Another anomaly struck Sunny as strange. There was plenty of missing information on the Firelord’s brother, Crown Prince Eungsoo, who was said to have murdered his own father, the late Firelord Sooman. There were no records of his existence, his identity, his crime, or anything related to him. The records clearly state that Firelord Soon-Jae was the second son, but there were no records on the first son. According to the stories, Crown Prince Eungsoo was supposed to become Firelord and not Soon-Jae. However, since he was said to have murdered his own father, he was exiled—or sentenced to death according to some—and Soon-Jae assumed the throne instead. If he was the Crown Prince a long time ago before the terrible incident of his father’s murder, shouldn’t there be some information on him?

              “I am sorry, Princess Soonkyu, but that has absolutely nothing to do with today’s lesson,” the tutor replied.

              “Tch…What are you so afraid of?” Sunny scoffed. “Are you scared of getting fired if you tell me?”

***

              The hour was late. Darkness filled the land as Kyuhyun scurried out of the secret base that midnight. He took care to cover his face with a black hood to prevent strangers from recognizing him. Any mistake of revealing their top secret plans could result in failure. He will not let this initial success so far to end in vain.

              Everything has been working out for their cause lately. The royal heirs of the Water Tribe was separated from their family making them vulnerable; the Avatar was nothing but a naïve little weakling, leaving the world vulnerable. If the plans are successfully initiated, nothing will be able to stop them.

              The “big mission” remains a secret only for a select people to know. One thing is for sure: they are planning on obliterating certain people as a part of this “big mission.” The reason could be among a lot of things, for each member of the organization has their own personal motive.

              Kyuhyun in particular, joined because of his distaste of the Royal Jung Family. The Jungs once sent his parents on a trip to the Earth Kingdom when he was young, and on that particular trip, they died from a storm; their ship sunk a hundred feet below the deep ocean. He had always secretly blamed the Water Tribe Chief in his heart; that’s why he left the North Pole at thirteen when he had a chance to sail with Seohyun’s parents. He could not handle seeing the Chief and his family rule in peace after what happened to his parents. During his travels in the Earth Kingdom, he found out that a certain underground organization had a big mission that involved obliterating high officials from all over the world. Thinking this could be a good way to get revenge, he joined the annihilation group immediately.

              As much as the plans are going well, something absolutely puzzled him. That guy, who he knew to be named Jaejun, is a part of their organization. The Avatar called him “Oppa.” Now, their organization does not exactly approve of the Avatar’s existence, since the whole existence of the Avatar is against their cause.

              Does that mean they are siblings? No, "Oppa" can be used to call any close older friend. How do they know each other exactly? Kyuhyun pondered.

              Earlier, after the Jungs and their loyal secretary left to head back to the ship, he met with Jaejun to deliver the parcel to a temporary secret base. Since he was confused by the whole chase scene with the Avatar, he had no choice but to ask the man himself.

              “Who are you and why does the Avatar know you?” Kyuhyun asked him as he grabbed Jaejun’s collar in the midst of the forest.

              Jaejun stared at Kyuhyun with his cold, piercing, dark eyes. “Get off of me, you bastard,” he said calmly with a punch on Kyuhyun’s face. The impact of his fist bruised Kyuhyun’s cheek. “She called me ‘Jaejoong,’ not ‘Jaejun,” he reasoned. “She could have been mistaken.”

              Instead of arguing further, Kyuhyun just went along with it. Later, Jaejun led him to the secret base when Kyuhyun successfully delivered “Changmin’s Parcel.”

              “That bloke isn’t confessing something, and I don’t trust him,” he mumbled to himself. “He and the Avatar definitely know each other; I’m sure of it.”

              Before heading back to his ship, he went to the market to acquire illegal explosives from a fellow cause member. His plan was to sail out into the ocean and blow up the ship with the Jungs in it. He knew it was highly likely that they could survive, considering that two water bending masters Sica and Yoochun are around to possibly save the day, but getting lost in the endless ocean and dying of thirst and hunger is highly likely too. Either way, he was pretty satisfied with that. Those Jungs should at least feel the torture of drowning in the ocean like his parents had. He felt sorry for Seohyun though. She has nothing to do with any of this. Nevertheless, a little sacrifice was necessary.

              When Kyuhyun got back, he was greeted by a worried group of Water Tribe people. These folks are so worried about the Avatar that they have no idea what disaster is about to befall them.

              “Where’s Taeyeon? What happened? How come you don’t have her with you? You’ve been gone for hours and you dare to come back without her?!” Sica shot the questions.

              “Sica Eonni, calm down,” said Seohyun who gently grabbed Sica’s tensing arms. Then she took a glance at Kyuhyun’s bruised cheek. “Oh dear, Kyuhyun Oppa, what happened to your face?”

              “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I lost her,” Kyuhyun lied. Yonghwa did not believe him but did not say anything.

              Seohyun took some clean water and healed Kyuhyun’s bruise. In a few seconds, the red bruise was gone. Kyuhyun thanked Seohyun with a smile and continued, “I was attacked by a beast. Those woods are really dangerous. I don’t know what happened to the Avatar. I hope she’s alright.”

***

              “Hyomin, straighten up your arms! I will not tolerate that terrible posture of yours!” Sunny yelled as she taught Hyomin fire bending.

              Although she was the daughter of a brilliant fire bending master, Hyomin was lacking in so much technique and skill. In Sunny’s opinion, the girl was so much worse than Taeyeon; in fact, she often compared her to Taeyeon subconsciously. Hyomin was a lot clumsier than Taeyeon, and that totally irked her. Sunny breathed a heavy sigh. Maybe she was missing Taeyeon a lot more than she thought. Other than being a little difficult to train, Hyomin was quite clingy too—always telling Sunny how much she missed her, always wanting to hang out with her, and always around to bother her. Sunny cannot blame the girl though. Hyomin was probably lonely after her father passed away. Besides, even the Fire Nation Princess felt lonely after Taeyeon left and Fany went about on her own business. She could totally use Hyomin’s company.

              After their training, Sunny sat down in deep thought. She has been doing that a lot lately. Over the last few weeks of futile research, she began to doubt the Firelord, her own father. Replacing the previous Firelord’s entire court wouldn’t be necessary unless he wants a set of loyal robots who would obey his every whim. Since he became Firelord immediately after the murder of Firelord Sooman, he must have some certain connection to that incident. Plus, all the missing information might have been deliberately erased from the records for a reason. He is definitely hiding something from his past that he cannot bear to expose even to his very own children. Whatever that secret—or possibly secrets—are, she definitely wants to find out. A flaw of the Firelord reflects on his children, his country, and his people. Whatever the flaw may be, it definitely affects her too.

              “Wah, I have no idea how you can learn all those moves! I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as you are, Your Highness!” Hyomin said, breaking off Sunny’s thoughts as she sat with the Princess on the steps of their little manor.

              Suddenly, Sunny got an idea. Why didn’t I think of this before? “Hyomin!” she exclaimed and faced the exhausted student.

              “Yes, Princess Soonkyu?”

              “Do you remember anything that your father mentioned about his past?” Sunny asked; her eyes and ears anticipating Hyomin’s answer. “Anything like before he became an admiral or something like that?”

              “Hmm…,” Hyomin pondered for a while. “I think he once said that he was a lowly palace guard during the rule of the previous Firelord. Why?”

              “What?! Really?!” Sunny exclaimed in shock. The records clearly state that the whole court of Firelord Sooman was fired and replaced with new people when her father assumed the throne. If Admiral Park used to work as a guard during the previous Firelord’s rule, then why was he still around during her father’s rule? Shouldn't he have been fired before she was even born? “So if your father used to work for the previous Firelord, did he ever mention anything about Crown Prince Eungsoo?”

              “Who’s Crown Prince Eungsoo?” Hyomin innocently asked.

              Sunny sighed in disappointment. “Never mind. I guess he did not tell you anything much after all. Crown Prince Eungsoo was the Firelord’s older brother. Basically, he’s my uncle. However, I’ve never met him, and I don’t know anything about him. There is not a single record on him in the room of records. I’m not even sure if he exists or not. There’s something I want to find out, but the lack of reliable information just frustrates me.”

              “Why don’t you ask your father yourself?” Hyomin suggested. “If anyone knows about that Crown Prince Eungsoo, it should be the Firelord, right?”

              That night, Sunny paced back and forth in her room. She has been pondering whether or not to ask her father about it for some time. Scenes of the Firelord’s previous outrage at Admiral Yongwoo still replayed in her mind. The cryptic expression of anger on the Firelord’s face always perplexed her every time she recalled it in her head. The whole scene was unreasonable and bizarre. If she asked him some questions about his past again, would he be willing to provide answers, or would she be dismissed in agitation?

              Finally, she marched her way to the Firelord’s bedchamber. There was no point in hiding in the shadows of doubt any longer. If she wants to know something, she should at least be completely blunt with her curiosity. Besides, is there anything wrong about searching for the truth? No, there isn’t.

              Princess Sunny stood before the Firelord’s bedchamber. Two guards secured the entrance, making sure that there was no one suspicious around to bother the Firelord’s sleep. Ever since Taeyeon left the Fire Nation, the Firelord’s insomnia has returned. Now everyone in the court made sure that all conditions were perfect for the Firelord’s slumber. None of those work though. For some reason, only Taeyeon’s chamomile tea can lay him to rest. Now Sunny was there to bother him. Those guards don’t look all too happy to see her either.

              “I’d like to speak with my father,” Sunny stated with dignity.

              “He had just retired for the night. Princess Sunny, you know very well how difficult it is to force your father to sleep,” said one of the guards.

              “Who are you to refuse me, a Royal Princess?” Sunny asserted.

              A few moments later, the Firelord himself opened the door to his chamber. It seems that he heard the commotion outside. When he saw Sunny, a smile formed on his distressed face. “Soonkyu, what are you doing here?”

              “I’m sorry Father for bothering you this late at night,” Sunny bowed her head. “May I have a word with you?”

              “Of course, my daughter. Come in.”

              Firelord Soon-Jae ushered Sunny in and led her to a comfortable chair by his balcony. The view was magnificent. He could see the entire capital from high up on his chamber. The bright crescent moon shone over the city; its light reflected by the bright red shingles on the nobles’ rooftops. The place was peaceful and quiet, just like the rest of the world. This time of peace and prosperity must be greatly appreciated. Times like this are precious.

              “So, what is it that you want to discuss with me about?” Firelord Soon-Jae asked and she sat with Sunny on another chair by the balcony.

              Sunny thought for a while, carefully formulating her words. “I’m just curious. I want to ask you a few questions. As you very well know, I am very interested in our family’s heritage. If I should become a successful Firelord someday, don’t you think I should know more about our history?”

              “Of course, of course. Is your history teacher not good enough that you had to ask me yourself? Anyway, ask and I shall answer your questions,” the Firelord said with a smile.

              That history teacher is ignorant and useless, Sunny thought. Then she proceeded to ask, “What was Firelord Sooman like in his rule? I figured since you know him personally more than anyone, I should as you myself.”

              “Ah, Firelord Sooman was a brilliant leader. Our nation’s long-lasting prosperity and productive economy was greatly caused by his great leadership,” the Firelord answered. Then he pointed out to the balcony and continued, “What you see out here today is the legacy of his wisdom and ingenuity. I merely continued his great efforts. If it was not for him, our nation would not be as powerful and eminent as it is today.”

              “What exactly happened to him? From what I have heard, he was rumored to have been murdered by Crown Prince Eungsoo, who, if I am not mistaken, happened to be your brother. Sadly, there was not a single record of this Crown Prince anywhere.”

              Firelord Soon-Jae sat frozen before Sunny, who was trying so hard to decipher his cryptic expressions. She expected him to be uncomfortable about this question. It was no surprise really; he never liked it when people interrogated him about the flaws in Fire Nation history. He looked almost guilty as he sat there. His lips trembled as he tried to speak.

              “Y-yes, Firelord Sooman was murdered by my brother,” the Firelord finally answered. “Since the Crown Prince was found guilty of murder, I assumed the throne instead.”

              Sunny looked skeptical. This rumor about Firelord Sooman’s death does not exactly have any legitimate evidence. There was no information about it in the history books or Fire Nation records. It appears that he does not exist. The story just went around the capital as nothing but rumors. However, whenever she mentions the name Eungsoo to her tutors, they tremble in fear. Now, her father was right here, telling her that everything was true, but is that really the truth?

              Afraid to provoke her own father, she bid him good night as soon as possible. Seeing his expression was enough for her. Besides, it was getting late. She will resume her research again tomorrow.

***

              The next day, Sica and the rest of the gang on Kyuhyun’s ship decide on a plan. Taeyeon still has not returned, making them even more worried. Anything could have happened to her in that forest that night. Sica suggested to head back into the forest to look for her again, but Kyuhyun discouraged her due to the dangers of the forest. Seohyun suggested staying at the ports a little longer in case Taeyeon comes back. All they had to do was have faith that she was going to be alright. She is the Avatar after all. Fate would not allow her to just disappear like that without becoming a fully-realized Avatar.

              “There has to be a way to convince them to leave,” Kyuhyun thought to himself. “I need to get rid of these Jungs as soon as possible.”

              Then an idea suddenly popped up in his head. “I need back up.”

              While Sica and Krystal were wandering the ports and Seohyun, Yonghwa, and Yoochun were singing together at the ship, Kyuhyun left them to “look for supplies.” He searched around the markets for Jaejun to ask for help, but he did not find him anywhere. So he headed to the secret base high up in the mountains. The leader was not around anymore, but to his relief, Jaejun was still there, practicing his swordsmanship. When Jaejun caught him sneaking around, Jaejun surprised him by grabbing his collar and throwing him forcefully on the ground. Then Jaejun gently prodded Kyuhyun’s cheek with his sword.

              “Your cheek seems better, Water Tribe bastard,” Jaejun greeted with much contempt.

              Kyuhyun blithely smiled and held his hands up to his head to show surrender. “Hey, man, you’re really too on edge. I’m part of the brotherhood too. We have the same cause. Basically, we’re supposed to cooperate and be friends.”

              “My own cause is my own business. I’m not here for friendship,” Jaejun coldly replied. Then he withdrew his sword, but did not help Kyuhyun stand up. His poker face was difficult to read. Kyuhyun could not quite figure out which side this fellow was on.

              “Well, anyway, I need help. You’re good enough,” said Kyuhyun. Jaejun ignored him. Then Kyuhyun continued, “I have royalties to get rid of, but I need your help. As you very well know, this is part of our plans.”

              Jaejun examined Kyuhyun’s seemingly aloof character. He does not look all too pleased with this “Water Tribe bastard” and his sudden proposition. He obviously despised him.

              “What happened to the Avatar?” Jaejun asked as he turned his back on Kyuhyun so that Kyuhyun cannot see his face. His voice had the slightest hint of worry, but Kyuhyun dismissed it because he was not sure if he heard it right.

              “Don’t worry about her. She won’t be much of a problem. She’s weak and clueless. A thud on her head was all it took to make her unconscious. The dangerous forest could have already gotten rid of her overnight,” Kyuhyun blithely replied.

Jaejun did not answer or face him for a few minutes. What exactly is this guy thinking? Kyuhyun thought. Finally, Jaejun faced him and looked at him straight in the eyes.

              “What can I do for you?”

***

              Sunny sat out on the front steps of the garden villa. She just got back from the extensive palace library, but she gained nothing from it. Whatever the Firelord was hiding, he truly did a thorough job of making sure that nothing would be left out in the open. Either the information was completely eradicated, or it does not exist in the first place. Either way, this lack of information was doing nothing but amplifying Sunny’s curiosity.

              “Hey, Twin!” Fany lightly kicked Sunny’s back with her foot to catch her attention. “You’ve been staring at nothing for quite a while.”

              Sunny looked up behind her and saw Fany and her friend Nichkhun, both displaying eye-smiles like the heavens just rained a pile of candy. Nichkhun bowed and waved at her with a smile, while Fany flopped herself beside her twin. Their presence just bothered Sunny more. “What the hell do you both want?”

              “Gosh, why are you so cranky?” Fany sharply asked with a pout. “Are you still researching the Firelord and his past irrational behavior?”

              “Yes, and my hours of research sort of led me to a different topic: the mysterious death of Firelord Sooman. While looking through the room of records about our father, I realized that in those records, none mentioned any real facts concerning our grandfather’s death. I’m trying to find out why.”

              “Oh, I have an idea!” Nichkhun suddenly spoke up; his friendly face looked even brighter than it already was. Then he crouched down and whispered, “My dad, Royal Minister Heo, has been in the palace since the rule of Firelord Sooman. You probably already know that your dad, the Firelord, and my dad are good friends, but you should know, they have been friends since Firelord Soon-Jae was a prince.”

              “Why are you whispering?” Fany looked at him oddly.

              Then Nichkhun stood up straight again and replied, “’Cause that fact is a secret.”

              “A secret?” Sunny stopped to think for a while. Then it struck her. “Ah! I get it! Wait so that means…”

              “Well I don’t get it.” Fany crossed her arms. Nichkhun just smiled.

              Then to explain what Nichkhun meant, Sunny lowered her voice and whispered to Fany, “You see, when our father, Firelord Soon-Jae, assumed the throne, he cleared the entire court and replaced them all with new recruits. So basically, everyone from the previous Firelord’s rule was fired. Every palace worker you see now never worked during Firelord Sooman’s reign.”

              “Wait, how do you both know that? That’s not in the history books, is it?” Fany looked from Sunny to Nichkhun and back to Sunny again.

              “It’s in the room of records,” Nichkhun whispered. “My dad took me there once, and all sorts of information are stacked in thousands of handwritten scrolls.”

              “So Nichkhun,” Sunny whispered as the three of them sat closer together. “Are you implying that your father would know something about the death of Firelord Sooman?”

              “I’m not sure, but probably.”

              “Wait, wait, wait,” Fany interrupted them and turned to Nichkhun. “If everyone was fired from Firelord Sooman’s reign, why didn’t your father get fired?”

              “I told you, he has been good friends with Firelord Soon-Jae since he was a prince. Why would your father get rid of his most loyal subject?”

              Suddenly, while Nichkhun was talking, Hyomin’s voice echoed in Sunny’s head, “…I think he once said that he was a lowly palace guard during the rule of the previous Firelord…”

              “Wait, so if Nichkhun’s father stayed in the palace since he was a close friend of Firelord Soon-Jae, does that mean that Hyomin’s father was also a close friend of Firelord Soon-Jae?” Sunny mumbled to herself. Then she remembered a scene from her childhood: her father yelling at the Admiral in complete outrage saying,

              “Leave my sight! I don’t ever want to see you again! No longer will you be an admiral for the army! Be glad I was kind enough to spare your life when I could have killed you many years ago!”

              “No, I don’t think they’re friends,” Sunny reasoned with herself. “Father was never really friendly with Admiral Park. There has to be some other reason why he stayed.”

              “If you want, I can ask my father about the previous Firelord’s reign,” Nichkhun interrupted Sunny’s thoughts. “I’m sure he would know something about those strange events.”

              “No, I will ask him myself.”

***

              Yonghwa glanced at Kyuhyun with much suspicion. The captain just came back from “obtaining supplies” and Yonghwa could not help but think this guy was up to something strange. He first noticed Kyuhyun’s suspicious actions back at the North Pole when Kyuhyun personally presented a cucumber to Sica. Everyone from the North Pole knew that Sica and Krystal hated cucumbers with every fiber of their being. He was sure that Kyuhyun would have known about that too. Yet, Kyuhyun feigned innocence and even slapped Sica’s face. Sica is a royal princess. How could Kyuhyun dare to slap her? Besides, why was he so offended that Sica insulted him? He should have expected Sica to say such insults, considering she is known to be the Ice Princess.

              At first Yonghwa thought that his own hatred for Kyuhyun biased his opinions, but now he was reconsidering it again. Before the group left for the North Pole, Kyuhyun seemed upset about something while conversing with Changmin. Then, during the whole voyage, Kyuhyun seemed to be trying so hard not to burst at Krystal’s annoyingness. In the forest while they were looking for Taeyeon, Kyuhyun refused Sica and Seohyun’s help reasoning that “the forest was too dangerous.” It seemed to Yonghwa that Kyuhyun had been trying so hard to be nice. Then again, it could just be a frame of his imagination.

              “I see that you’re back from shopping, or whatever you did while you were away,” Yonghwa greeted him with an unfriendly tone.

              “Yeah, I needed to replace some floaters,” Kyuhyun said as he flashed a smile at the prince.

              There he is again—acting suspiciously nice, Yonghwa thought as he observed him.

              Right now, all the girls were in the lower cabin talking about “girl stuff” safe away from any danger. Secretary Yoochun stood by the Crown Prince. Kyuhyun was making sure that the masts were in proper condition. The plan that he discussed with Jaejun was simple: scare the Jungs into sailing away into the ocean. Obviously, Sica will never allow the ship to sail away because of Taeyeon’s disappearance unless they somehow get into some kind of danger. That is when Jaejun comes in to pose a threat on the most important passenger: Crown Prince Yonghwa. He does not expect Jaejun to succeed in killing him, but if he somehow manages to finish the prince off, then exploding the ship later out in the ocean will be easier.

              Suddenly, shurikens flew toward Yonghwa at blinding speed. As Kyuhyun anticipated, Secretary Park immediately water bended a protective ice barrier to shield the Crown Prince.

              “What the hell?!” Yonghwa exclaimed.

              Suddenly, a man dressed in all black with a mask that only exposed his eyes jumped onto the ship’s deck. Kyuhyun attacked him with a whip of water, but the man evaded his attacks with his quick agility. The masked man was Jaejun, therefore Kyuhyun made sure not to hurt him with his attacks.  Then when Jaejun finally got close enough to Secretary Park, who was protecting the Crown Prince, Jaejun swiftly kicked him overboard. Then the masked assassin yanked the helpless Crown Prince and held a sword over the prince’s neck.

              Kyuhyun, who was pretending to be a part of Yonghwa’s side, grabbed water with his bending and readied it for attack. He needed to act as convincing as possible.

              Meanwhile, the girls in the inner cabin felt the boat rock as the men on the top deck fought with the masked assassin. Suddenly, Krystal saw Secretary Yoochun fall from the top deck when she looked out at the inner cabin’s sealed glass window.

              “Did Yoochun Oppa just fall from the top deck?!” Krystal exclaimed in surprise.

              “Eonni, what’s happening?” Seohyun trembled as she looked to Sica.

              “Stay here and don’t come out. I’ll take care of it,” Sica ordered.

              Back at the top deck, Secretary Yoochun flew back up on a water tornado. When Jaejun saw him, he threatened to press the blade of his sword harder on his captive’s throat.

              “Don’t move!” the masked man yelled. Yonghwa’s heart skipped a beat.

              Suddenly, a sharp, cold object flew at the assassin’s right hand at blinding speed, leaving a huge, bloody wound and making him drop his sword. Then from out of the lower cabins, Sica yelled, “Nobody messes with my brother!”

              Jaejun quickly avoided Sica’s and Secretary Park’s attacks, ignoring the traumatized Crown Prince on the floor. When he got closer to Kyuhyun, he immediately pulled an extra knife and held it against his throat, throwing Kyuhyun off-guard. This wasn’t part of the plan.

              Before finally slitting Kyuhyun’s throat, Jaejun whispered, “Nobody messes with my sister.”

              Out of curiosity, Seohyun went out of the inner cabin to see what was happening. Right at that moment, she saw the scariest scene in her life. She witnessed Kyuhyun’s death right before her eyes. Everyone stood frozen as she saw Kyuhyun fall lifelessly from the masked man’s arms. Even Jaejun trembled as he watched Kyuhyun’s blood drip from his fingers.

              Rage began to fill Sica. While the assassin was stationary, Sica launched a highly pressurized water attack at him, flinging him off the boat. The masked assassin fell on the docks.

              “I’m sailing us out of here!” Secretary Park announced. With the help of Sica’s water bending, Secretary Yoochun steered the boat out into the ocean, far away from Jaejun.

***

              That afternoon before the Royal Ministers left for home at dusk, Sunny went to the Royal Minister Heo’s palace office to ask him a few things. As she made her way through the eerie halls, she heard voices from a different corridor.

              “Minister Heo, we need to talk,” said a low, hoarse voice. It was the Firelord.

              Hearing this, Sunny quickly hid in a different corridor.

              “What is it, Your Majesty?” asked Minister Heo.

              The Firelord began whispering something but Sunny couldn’t hear it properly. The only words she could make out of it were “Royal Family secrets.” Those three words were used more often than any other during their conversation.

              After that, the two men left the office, leaving Sunny to wonder what the Firelord and the Royal Minister discusses. Then she scrutinized the office for any clues, but nothing was found at all. At least now she was sure; the Firelord was definitely hiding something.

              When the Firelord and the Royal Minister left for their own businesses, Sunny decided to follow Royal Minister Heo to ask him questions. Judging by the halls that the Royal Minister was taking, he seemed to be heading out of the palace. Sunny kept a close watch on him while keeping a favorable distance. However, when the Royal Minister finally got out of the palace, to Sunny’s surprise, he suddenly disappeared. Outside the palace was an open area. There could not have been any place for the Royal Minister to just hide.

              “Where did he go?” Sunny muttered as she scratched her head. “He was just here a while ago.”

              The next day, a message was sent to the Fire Nation Royal Palace, calling the whole court, including the twin princesses. When one of the ministers read the news scroll, everyone gasped in shock.

              “The Left Royal Minister Heo, his wife, and his son were all found to be killed by an unknown murderer…”

              “What?!” Fany exclaimed. Her voice ringed louder than everyone else. She stood there petrified, trembling at the horrible news. “N-n-n-n-Nich-k-k-k-khun….”

              Sunny supported her twin sister whose knees wobbled at a loss. None of them expected this. I was just about to ask him a few things yesterday, Sunny thought. What is going on? First, Admiral Yongwoo, now Royal Minister Heo and the rest of his family? Why would anyone kill the Left Royal Minister?

              Fany began weeping in her sister’s arms. She was undoubtedly devastated by the news. Nichkhun had been accompanying her whenever she was lonely and now he was dead. “H-how c-c-could this hap-pen? There has to be a mistake!”

***

              “Kyuhyun Oppa!” Seohyun cried out as she approached Kyuhyun’s dead body. Then she took some clean water and gently tried to heal him, but it was no use. Healing the dead was impossible. “No, no, no! You can’t die!”

              Sica stood there as the waves rocked the boat up and down. The rocking motion and the sight of blood should make her nauseous, but oddly, she just stood there frozen like the Ice Princess that she is. When Krystal went out from the inner cabins, Sica covered her sister’s eyes and prevented her from seeing all the horror.

              “Seohyun, I’m so sorry I doubted Kyuhyun Hyung,” Yonghwa softly said as he held the weeping Seohyun in his arms.

              After Sica and Secretary Park cleaned up the deck and wrapped Kyuhyun’s body in white canvas cloth, they finally called Krystal and told her what happened. After moments of silence and weeping, they said their eulogies and placed the dead captain on a lifeboat to drift out into the wide ocean.

              Rest in peace.