The crashing waves of the ocean kissed the shore as Suho watched from the window of his office. Concern was etched on every corner of his face as he stared out at the sea, lost in his own ocean of thoughts. Today was the third day, the day all the votes would be collected from the twelve different realms of the kingdom, the day they would decide the girl’s fate. It had been the longest three days of the man’s life. He’d slept little and paced greatly. Hours had been spent in his office, pouring over any and every work related document he could get his hands on, only to realize he had little to do in the first place. He’d even resorted to helping the palace staff clean and cook, anything to keep himself distracted from his never-ending, worrisome thoughts.

His mind drifted back to three days ago, before he’d departed Central City. He and Xiumin had lingered behind, speaking in hushed voices about the situation, and he could still recall every word. “She could be the one,” the younger dark haired man had mumbled to him. “She fits everything from the visions, fits the timing of the tale.” This was what troubled Suho the most. If she was indeed the one they’d been waiting for, then why was there so much discord among them? Hadn’t they made a pact years ago, that should a suitor of the role arrive, they would agree to treat her kindly, agree to help her? Yet, here they were, forced to take a vote as to whether or not they should allow her to stay or kick her out.

The man sighed heavily, running a hand through his golden hair. He blinked away the ocean in his eyes and turned to look back into his office, only to be surprised to find himself no longer alone.

“Mermaids!” he called out in startled shock. “How long have you been standing there?”

The young man leaning against the wall produced a dazzling smile, his eyes shrinking into happy slits as he waved a hand at the older. “Long enough to know you need more sleep. Your shoulders are slumping more than usual. It’s not good for travel, you know.”

Once more a heavy sigh echoed around the office as Suho took his seat behind the large desk in the middle of the room. His hand stretched out as the younger approached to place the many papers he carried into the possession of the other.  Each with a hand grasped onto the pages, the two men shared a solemn look, one that needed no words for them to understand one another.

“I hope whatever happens, it works out in our favor. I’m on your side, so whatever you decide, I’ll support you,” Kai whispered as he pulled away. He took a few steps back, his hands folding before him as he waited to deliver the final news.

Three whole days I’d been a prisoner of this place. Surely dreams didn’t last this long, weren’t this elaborate, right? Each day I woke up in the different bed, I reminded myself this was all just a dream and at any point I would wake up from it. Yet, I still felt like a prisoner, perhaps one of my own mind, but a prisoner no less. Sure, it was a beautiful prison: the gardens in full bloom, a library to rival all university libraries, and food so delicious I wanted to slap my mother. It wasn’t home, though, and I was growing restless, and truthfully, a little afraid.

I was still missing answers to many questions I had, still not understanding what exactly my purpose here was. Catalina was a nice friend, and she was doing a good enough job at occupying some of my down time, but even she was holding back, and the lack of knowing what was going on was making my stomach knot. I didn’t want to believe anyone here was bad. Everyone had been so kind and welcoming in the last few days, but I could still hear the table of men talking, still hear the way the one had seemed against my presence in their land. Kyungsoo, wasn’t that his name? Regardless, he didn’t seem too keen on me being here.

The scent of fresh roses tickled my nose as I turned the page of the book, though I couldn’t recall what I’d just read. My mind was far from the text in my hands, but I wanted to at least appear to be distracted by it.

“You’re a fast reader if you can get through three pages in forty-five seconds,” a voice giggled behind me.

Startled, I jumped, making the book fall from my clutches. I took in the giggling man behind me, admired his smile and the way his eyes curved at the rising of his cheeks. He was very handsome, though I remember them all being so, but it was the first time I’d really seen one of them so close.

“H-how long have you been standing there?” I stuttered out.

The man let out a happy sigh as he calmed himself. “Funny, that’s the second time today I’ve been asked that question. I’ve been standing here for about fifty seconds now, if I had to guess. Maybe a little more. I’m not too good with time.”

My lashes tickled my cheeks as I blinked in confusion. “Wait, how did you get there without coming from there?” I pointed to the only entrance that allowed people into this part of the garden. I wasn’t that lost in my thoughts that I would have missed him arriving.

“Nevermind that,” came another familiar voice from the place I’d just pointed out.

I turned and saw Catalina in her familiar white with gold trim attire standing at the entrance of the garden. Her beauty still caught me off guard, even after the time we’d spent together. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous, but she was captivating. She would catch any guy’s attention back home.

“Hello, Kai,” she said with a kind smile and a small bow in his direction.

“Catalina,” Kai returned.

The two stared at one another with gentle, genuine smiles as my head rolled back and forth between them, trying to figure out what conversation they might be sharing with their eyes, only to realize what it might be.

“Oh, I see what’s going on. Should I retreat back inside and give you two a moment?” I giggled, the childish side of me emerging from within at the idea of two people having a crush on one another.

The words seemed to snap them from their rendezvous as Kai blushed and shook his head. “I-uh-I brought the letter from Suho.” His hand stretched out, showing a crisp white envelope with a blue seal.

I looked to Catalina again as she stared at it for a moment, not approaching, almost as if she was afraid of what might be inside. Dread came over me. What if it was bad news? What if they didn’t want me here? I mean, it wasn’t that I wanted to stay, but how would they get rid of me? Death? Wiping my memory? Could they even wipe my memory? I realized I still knew very little about those that I was surrounded by, and this didn’t ease the tension in my body.

Eventually she stepped forward, approaching him and taking it from his hand. Her slender finger was careful as she broke the seal and pulled the letter out from within. Her green eyes moved left and right, scanning the words, drinking them in. As she reached what I could only imagine to be the end, she let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

“Thank you, Kai. Please tell him I will take care of everything and we will see him soon.”

With that, Kai looked to me with a wink before he disappeared into thin air.

“What the hell just happened?!” I yelled, jumping to my feet and backing away, eyes still locked on the spot where the man had just been. A finger was raised, pointing in the same direction. “Where did he go? What do you mean we will see him soon? And who even is he? And when am I going home?”

A gentle smile crossed Catalina’s lips. “I think it’s time to answer your questions, at least the ones I’m able to. There are some that can only be answered by much wiser people, but we will get the answers you seek. For now, let’s start from the beginning shall we?”

I couldn’t bring myself to sit beside Catalina as she filled the spot I’d just occupied moments before. The man that had just been here, had poofed just like that. He’d winked, and poofed. How was that even possible? Even magicians couldn’t do that. They simply gave the illusion that they had disappeared in a cloud of smoke, but really there was a trap door of some sort that they crawled through. There was no trap door in the garden. No puff of smoke, no curtain. The man Catalina had called Kai had simply vanished.

“You’re still in shock?” I heard her kindly mumble, her voice smiling to match the way her lips curved up. “I don’t blame you. I think anyone who wasn’t accustomed to it would be.”

“Well, yeah! Things like that don’t just happen! People don’t just disappear without a reason! Even magicians don’t do real magic!” I half-yelled my previous thoughts at her.

A gentle giggle left her lips. “You have sorcerers where you’re from?”

My eyes blinked at her in a manner that suggested she might be crazy. “No, not really but—Wait, this is unimportant. What happened? How did he do that?”

Catalina patted the spot beside her on the bench. “Don’t worry, love, I’m not going to hurt you.” She must have sensed the hesitation I was feeling, because she didn’t push, didn’t force me to sit. If she was some sort of witch she wasn’t using her power on me yet. Sensing I wasn’t about to sit so easily, Catalina continued. “Kai is a teleporter. He has the ability to travel between the realms in a matter of seconds. It’s how he appeared in the garden without you knowing, it’s how he disappeared from the same spot so easily.”

I blinked. “Wait, so you’re telling me, he has some sort of magical power?”

The woman thought for a moment before her shoulders shrugged and her head started to nod. “Essentially, yes. I told you there are twelve realms outside of Central City. Each one has a specialty: teleportation, water, fire, wind, ice, telekinesis, earth, healing, lightning, light, flight, and time. The inhabitants of the realms have learned the powers and use them to help function our world. Everyone has a part to play in keeping things running smoothly here.”

I stared at her incredulously. This couldn’t be possible. How naïve did she think I was to believe this? A laugh escaped my slightly parted lips as I thought about how this dream of mine had taken a drastic turn for the fantastical. “And Central City? What power have I been walking amongst the last three days unknowingly?” The question had come out with a little more bite than I’d intended, but I couldn’t take it back, nor did I want to.

“There isn’t one. Central City is home to those who don’t learn a power, or those who wish to renounce their learned powers for one reason or another. It is the place where occupations such as tailors and bakers, and other professions that don’t need magical assistance reside. It’s also where the king over all the lands dwell, in this very castle in fact.”

It was an answer to my question, one that calmed my nerves at least a little bit. At least I hadn’t been in any real danger while I’d been here, not unlike what I would experience back home anyway. “So you don’t have a power either?”

Her green eyes glanced away at a nearby rose. “I’m what is called a Huntress. Our power is completely our own, and I assure you, it’s harmless. It’s our skill that’s more dangerous. We travel the land, keeping out those who don’t belong. We can sense the presence of unusual beings and we seek them out to erase them.”

Once more I blinked at her in silence before a scoff finally brushed against my lips. How could she sit there and tell me she wasn’t dangerous, when she’d just admitted that it was her job to kill people who didn’t belong there, people like me. I remembered back to the day she’d found me, how the green skinned woman seemed familiar to her, how she’d driven her away. Maybe Catalina wasn’t a murderer. Maybe she believed in mercy and second chances. She hadn’t killed me, hadn’t killed the woman either. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh. After all, she was answering my questions now and that seemed promising.

“So,” I finally mumbled. “What am I doing here? Who did you tell that Kai fellow we would be going to see and what does that mean for me?”

A sigh escaped from Catalina as she shook her head. “I mentioned earlier that some stories are better left told by those much wiser. Your being here is one of those instances. I told Kai we would be going to see Suho, the king of the water realm. Of course, I’m going to leave it to you, but before you decide anything, we need to seek out the rest of your answers. Do you trust me? I know it seems like such a tough question to ask, given the load I’ve just put on you so suddenly. If you’ll just give me a chance, I promise you can trust me.”

I wanted to believe her. After all, Catalina had been so nice to me so far. No one here had shown any indication of wanting to hurt me, or even any real disdain, other than that one fellow. Would it hurt to just hear her out? To go see whoever it was that needed to be seen to get a few more answers? “I’ll go, but I want to decide for myself what happens to me. I want to have the choice whether I stay or go. I don’t want to be forced into some weird game unless I’m okay with it. I don’t know why I’m here or why you all have such an interest in me, but you’ve been nice. I figure it’s the least I can do to repay you. I’ll go with you to see whoever it is that has to be seen and spoken to for answers. After that, I want my fate to be in my own hands.”

Green eyes shivered in thought, her mind clearly working to process if this was a fair deal. Finally she nodded her head and smiled at me. “Fair enough. I promise you that much. After you hear the answers you want, you have the choice to stay or go. No one will make it for you. Huntress’s honor,” she giggled, raising a hand in the air as the other rested over her heart. “Well, now that we’ve come to that conclusion, we should prepare for our journey north. You’ll need something much warmer than that cloak I’ve given you.”

Image credit: Nik Yeliseyev