Darkness. That’s all I could see in this cramped room. I felt for an exit. My hand grazed against a handle. I gripped onto it and pulled. A cold blast of air hit my body, sending chills. I stepped out, finding a lit path.

  I followed the light, not knowing what I would expect. The farther I went, the cooler it got. My breath was visible as I puffed some air.

  I didn’t know where I was going, but that didn’t stop me. I continued until I found the chained door.

  I stepped towards it. Being a couple of feet away, I felt a blizzard. There was something strange about this door other than the fact it was chained. I felt bitter and repellant – I didn’t want anyone near me.

  I examined the chains and found a lock with no key holes or pin. Instead, there were two wolves. One was chasing the sun while the other chased the moon.

  There was a low laugh of a man. This laugh wasn’t like the one I have heard in my previous dreams. This was less demonic and strangely familiar. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was similar to someone I knew. I just couldn’t place my finger on it.

  The laugh came again, echoing in my ear. Then came a voice, calm and captivating, “Free me.”

  I stared at the lock.

  “Free me,” the voice repeated in a whisper.

  My mouth opened and I spoke words I didn’t understand myself. They came smoothly like silk as if it was my native language. When I finished, the pattern on the lock began to move.

  The moon and sun shifted clockwise as the wolves followed. After the third roundabout, there was a click. The lock disappeared and the chains slipped to the floor.

  The laugh came louder. “Good job,” was the last thing I heard before waking up.

  I gasped for air and darted my eyes around the room. It was another day being stuck in Neverland and another day of training. Great.

  Yesterday was my magic training, but I couldn’t exceed intermediate. It because I wanted to prove to Dongho that I could do something he couldn’t. Everything is said and done. I’ll probably not have another chance depending if the siege comes or not.

  As for Rima, I didn’t see her much. She practically disappeared from my sight before and after dinner. When I asked her where she goes after dinner, she told me, “I just walk around the castle. Don’t worry about me.”

  But I did worry. I didn’t want her to be in the siege while I wasn’t there.

  As she was saying those words, I noticed Dongho gazing at her while eating. I don’t know what his problem was but it was bothering me. Couldn’t he just mind his own business and leave Rima alone? He’s such a creeper.

  Now that it’s a new day, I had to start my training once again.

  “Good marrow, Milady. I mean morning. I forgot the language is different now.” AJ greeted, opening the blinds to allow the sunlight to come through.

  I squinted my eyes at the sudden light and sat up. “Good morning, AJ.” I greeted, still half asleep.

  “Let’s grab some breakfast while Kiseop is finishing up his shift. What would you like for today?” He stood by my bedside, looking weary than ever.

  I rubbed my eyes. “How about scrambled eggs, ham, and toast?” I suggested.

  “I could make that.” He strode to the door, unsteadily. Even the way he walked seemed tired.

  I lazily got off the bed by rolling. Why do I have to do continuous training? I’m sick of it.

  As we walked down the hall, I watched as AJ wasn’t walking normally. His steps were heavy and he wouldn’t go in a straight line. It bothered me, so I asked, “What’s wrong, AJ?”

  He paused on his tracks and gave me a smile. “I didn’t sleep last night because I had to help guard the wall. When my shift was over, I had to prepare breakfast for the Queen. She wakes up early to tend to her duties. And also I’ve used too good amount of magic to help repair the wall. But don’t you worry, Milady. I’ll be fine. I just used too much of my stamina this morning.”

  That wasn’t reassuring. I stayed close to him, ready to catch him if he falls. All I hope for is he’s not as heavy as Dongho. If he is, I might drop him and nobody will pop out of nowhere and help me.

  We arrived at the kitchen, finding servants cooking for other guests in the castle which wer mainly guards. The servants would cook and bring it out to them since they couldn’t leave their station unless ordered.

  AJ immediately headed to the pantries and “refrigerator” to grab all the ingredients for my breakfast. At that same moment, Kiseop entered the room awake and alert.

  I watched as a maid came, clearly flirting with him. “Good morning, Master Kiseop. How are you?”

  Kiseop does a single nod to her. “I’m fine,” he replied flatly.

  The maid continued, “Would you care for something to eat?”

  “No.”

  “How about something to drink?”

  “No.” Kiseop repeated, getting annoyed of her persistence.

  “You need to eat,” the maid stated, “Breakfast is fairly important. You can’t work on an empty-”

  “I said I don’t want any!” Kiseop burst while slamming his fist onto the wall.

  Everyone in the kitchen paused and stared except for AJ who continued to cook for me. It seemed like everyone held their breath as they anticipated for the next act.

  The maid bowed and took a step back. With a trembling voice, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Master Kiseop.” After those words, she hastily left the kitchen and everyone returned to their duties.

  I stared at Kiseop, wanting to understand why he did that.

  Kiseop made a pained expression and rubbed the temple of his head. He groaned and walked up to AJ. “I can’t stand flirty women,” he stated only for AJ to hear, but I caught it.

  Wanting to hear more, I stepped closer.

  “You never have,” AJ replied, cooking eggs.

  There was a long silence before Kiseop whispered, “I used to.”

  AJ raised his head and gazed at him. Soon his eyes shifted to me and he immediately returned to his cooking.

  Kiseop noticed. “Ah, so you’re here, Warrior. Are you ready for your training?” He asked me like everyone else has.

  I nodded. I carefully examined Kiseop. He appeared weary, too: baggy eyes and face sunken. Not only that but he seemed different from the first time I met him. He’s bitter, impatient, and has a temper. Could the wall be the cause of all this?

  “After breakfast, we’ll be heading to the training grounds. There, I’ll teach you everything you need to know about handling the spear.” He flashed a quick smile.

  I gulped. I wonder how this would turn out.

~*~

  “Not only do you need to know how to handle a spear, but also a staff, a lance, and a scythe. But sadly, we don’t own scythes,” Kiseop explained at the training grounds.

  I nodded.

  As that was a sign for us to start, he tossed me a staff.

   “Mages also uses staffs to excel their magic ability, but you can no be an amateur. There is a possibility of death,” he explained once again. “The staff is pretty simple.” He stared twirling it looked a baton. It got faster and faster to where it appeared to be a blur.

  I was amused, but didn’t dare to try it. I was afraid I might hit him or myself.

  He slowly came to a stop to say, “It’s all about quickness. You use your whole arm and hips.” Kiseop pointed to his hips and arm. “And use these weapons as an advantage. Think of it as an extra arm for yours are short. Extend it as far as you can.”

  I did what I was told, but it felt heavy.

  He chuckled. “Hold it near the middle.”

  I slid my hand where he told me to and had a better balance.

  Kiseop continued his training with me for the staff, showing all kinds of movements. Some were confusing while some were easy to pick up. There were times when I got distracted at his scar became visible. I ignored it sine it was rude to stare.

  Kiseop taught me the rest of the weapons each hour, so it would take about three hours in total. However, in the middle of the lance training Dongho arrived with Rima beside him.

  I brightened as I saw Rima. She really appeared healthier after Dongho took the Shadow out of her.

  Kiseop bowed. “Good afternoon, Prince Dongho.”

  Dongho grinned. “Good morning, Kiseop. I see Hyori is training well.”

  He nodded.

  Dongho smirked, “Show me what you can do.” He jumped over the fence and stood in front of me. “Let’s have a math.”

  I glared deep into his eyes, wanting to wipe that smirk off his face. What is with this boy anyways?

  “She’s not ready yet,” Kiseop added before this would become a war. “You’ve been trained for years and she’s only been trained for two hours. No matches for now.”

  Dongho scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he muttered. Spinning on his heels, he took a glance at me. “You seriously need to know not to be stubborn around here. After all, you can’t escape this fate.”

  My eyes drooped. I hated this fate. It’s plain and simple why I hated it. Why me out of everyone else in the world? It’s so strange and frustrating.

  “You can do it!” Rima exclaimed.

  I managed a weak smile. While I’m here, I’ll protect the ones I love. I can’t give up after everything I’ve been through. Sure I hate it, but I can’t escape it.

  I took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s finish up this training.