Over the past few days I have had too much time to think.
   Most of the time my thoughts were plagued with Adela. My thoughts always ended in one conclusion, my Adela is gone forever. That girl I saw…I don’t know her. She is a murderer, a cold-blooded killer with no remorse. She died the second she slit her victims throat. The person living in her bod...is nothing more than a criminal that deserves what they are getting.

   It’s cold but that is the truth. The Adela I know would never kill someone. Maybe I didn't really know Adela. Maybe I only knew the good side. Maybe she put on act. All I know is the person sentenced to death is not my best friend.
  After some thought I no longer hate the Zhangs. I do not like some of their beliefs but I can't blame them for having them. They were raised in a different world.

TING...TING...

Something hit my window.

TING...TING...

I opened my window to see what was hitting it. When something blunt hit me on the forehead. A pebble fell to the ground and I glared at the laughing red head that threw it.

'Come down' he mouthed, flailing his arms around like a lunatic.

What the hell did he want at this hour?
 It's almost midnight.



"What do you want?" I grumbled glaring up at the smiling giant. I rubbed my arms, they hurt slightly from the strain I put on them when I clambered down the side of the house.

"I wanted to talk to you."
"I don't talk to people that throw rocks at me."
"Ah, sorry about that-but your face it was priceless! You should have seen it!"

He laughed loudly, dodging my punches expertly.

"How come you're up this late?"
"I could ask you the same thing."

He has a point. I barely sleep anymore. I'm afraid I will have another nightmare.

“Tell me, why aren’t you sleeping?”
"I don't sleep. My mind has the scary capability of being dark and demented."
"You're afraid of your dreams...?"
"...Yes"

His answer came out hoarse and vulnerable. Tears pooled his eyes.

He's just like me...

He's afraid of the nightmares...

  "What's your reason?"
"...I don't want to see another person die..."

Chanyeol knew what I meant. In all my dreams someone died. Sometimes I was that person, sometimes it was someone I knew, and sometimes it was the blurred face man or Shui. And sometimes I saw fields of unmoving bodies and puddles of blood.

     We walked down the lit streets in silence, a silence that seemed to say much more than words.

I understand…the pain…the fear…

I understand.

"Are you okay? I heard you talked to Adela."
 
I am so far from okay… 

"It's okay to not be fine."
"It's okay to be weak sometimes."

No, not it's not.
   I am too weak. I want to be strong. I want to defeat anyone that gets in my way.
    I'm weak.

"Just know, you can be weak around me. I won't judge. I'm weak too."
"No, you're not weak. You're strong. You can fight. You're always smiling..."
"That's because...no matter how difficult and hard something is I will always be positive and smile like an idiot."

I smiled at him, I have never seen the mature side f him. It made me feel warm and…

Happy
-----•----------------------•------

LAY POV


 It was the day before the choosing ceremony. Not many kids came to school and the ones that did mostly stayed inside. They didn't want to ruin themselves the day before the choosing ceremony. I sat on a bench, reading one of my favourite books. I was one of the few kids that dared to go outside. Most were too afraid of getting tanned or sunburnt the day before the ceremony. Personally, I didn't care for the choosing ceremony. The odds of me getting picked were one in millions.
    There were three kids out side in total. Chun Hae, a fellow healer and friend, sat underneath a tree. Her hair tied in a messy knot. Her face was clear of makeup as usual. She looked better than most girls in this school. She too was reading a book, the same book as me. The other person outside was a short guy with pink hair I think his name is Woozi. I don’t know him well, this is his first year at Idris and he’s a scruff.
  The doors of Idris opened and shut with a bang. It echoed across the empty grounds. Chanyeol and Areum walked out. Kai and D.O weren't here today. Chanyeol and Areum were talking animatedly.

That's when I saw it.

   Chanyeol had that look in his eyes. The look he had when he stared at his first love, Yejin. He gave this look to Yejin when he was in the early stages of liking her. His heart has begun to warm. Everyone who knew Chanyeol knew that after his break up with Yejin (no one knows the reason of the breakup) he shut out every girl. He would act friendly with them but when they started to actually know each other he shut down. He would avoid them as if they were a plague. Girls would throw themselves at him and he just plain ignored them. He has broken many hearts. At least that's what Jaeyoung told me. It made me wonder, why girls still went after him, when they knew he would only break their heart?

----------------------------------------------

Areum POV

I was laughing at the twins and their bickering, we were going to get all glammed up for the choosing ceremony. But when I saw it the smile fell off my face.

When I saw it my fragile world finally came crashing down.

'FORGET US
                      -A.V.B.K'

 Was spray painted onto one of the cement pots, the flowers were in full bloom. They were newly planted orchids.

Forget us

 A.V.B.K stood for Auntie, V, Bobby, and Kookie. They wanted me to forget them. The people that raised me...wanted me to forget them. My brothers, my closest friends were telling me to forget them, to move on with my life…

without them.

"Lordy! Those scruff thugs are at it again! Have they no respect for anything?" Killin exasperated. She huffed out an annoyed breath and made a big fuss of the message.
 

   Scruff thugs didn’t leave it, humans left it, humans that I call-called family. Family that want me to forget them and live my life with royals.

"Let's go." I said with a tone void of all emotion. My entire being was emotionless. It was still trying to process the message. And when I did understand the impossible task my family asked me to do I buried it deep.

"...Okay...?" To my dismay everyone noticed my drop in mood. They wondered what made my mood drop. They would never guess that this spray paint was for me. They would never guess that these two words destroyed my world.

I walked as calmly as I could, blinking back the tears as they came. I sat in the back of the limo, where it was dark so no one could see my tears. My sadness soon turned to rage. Biking hot rage that threatened to burst my heart, rage that made my hands shake.

How could-how could they tell me to forget them?
Are they done with me!?
Have they moved on already?
Am I no longer important to them?

Doesn’t it hurt them? Because it hurts me so much, too much.
Have they already forgotten me?

You know what! I’ll forget them! If that’s what they want, FINE! I will forget them. The Zhangs will be my family now!

--------------------

The stylists gently pulled and pinned my hair. They styled it then styled it some more. They brushed makeup on my face. I put on a mask. I smiled when I was supposed to. I didn't look dead.
No.
I looked fine, happy even. I looked the opposite of what I felt. Though I tried to drown the pain and sadness it kept resurfacing, again and again it came for air and threatened to spill out my eyes. It clawed at me as I pushed it under. It fought back, and sometimes it won. It came up for air and made a crack in my smiling mask.

   There was barely any makeup on my face, a thin layer dusted my skin and black coated my lashes. Silver glittered on my eyes and my lips were tinted a faded shade of purple, my makeup was simple yet gorgeous. My cheeks were a subtle shade of pink. I looked gorgeous. My hair was the only intricate thing. It was twisted and curled into a braid that flowed down my back. Silver and lilac glitter shimmered in it. The stylists did an amazing job.

( The very last one-------------------this one^^^^^^^)
"All done Miss Areum."
"You look beautiful miss Areum."
"Miss Areum you are breathtaking."
"All the boys will fall for you Miss Areum"
"Oh my Miss Areum you are gorgeous."

Everyone began complimenting
me. I smiled and thanked them like a proper lady, I acted like the daughter Kilin and Jin wanted me to be. I wasn’t myself.
     On wobbly legs I walked up to my family. This is my first time wearing heels, my ankles kept buckling out and making me stumble. I had to grip the walls to walk and I hiked up my dress so I didn’t ruin the piece of art.

"My, look how beautiful my daughter is!" Kilin squealed. I smiled at her. She didn't realize it was forced. Kilin ran over in towering heels that clicked and clacked across the ground. She pulled me into a quick hug. She wore a loose pale blue dress that stopped at her toes. She looked amazing, as usual. Her hair was down in perfect ringlets.

"You can't walk in heels can you?" Lay asked walking up to me with a smile. I was still shorter than him.

"No." He wrapped a sturdy arm around my waist and helped me walk. He wore a silk blue suit. His green hair was styled up and his skin seemed nicer than usual. His eyes seemed more intense than usual. He helped me walk out the building and to a flash white car that lacked a roof. Jin wore a similar coloured suit to Kilin’s dress. He looked good. The years have been kind to both him and Kilin. Jaeyoung sat behind him in leather-coated seats. She had a low cut dark purple dress. Thank god mu=y dress isn’t that revealing. Her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail; her hair was straightened and almost matched her dress. Black and dark purple made her eyes sharp and fierce, they pierced everything they looked at. Her twin sat behind her laughing with a girl I didn’t know, it wasn’t his girlfriend Bekah. Jaehyun wore a blue velvet suit and his hair was down and layered. No one could pull velvet off like him. The girl beside him wore a velvet dress the same colour as his. She had dark blue almost black hair; half of it was up while the other half was waved slightly. Lay walked her over to the car and helped her in, she sat between Jaeyoung and Lay. Kilin hoped in beside Jin and the driver took off.

“Who is that girl?” Kilin whispered, glancing back at the boy and girl laughing in the back.

“Jaehyun’s new girlfriend.”

“He broke up with Bekah? She was such a sweetie though…”

“She cheated on him.”

Kilin shut up and sent one more worried glance back at her son.

“If I see her I will rip her hair out.” Jaeyoung growled. It was cute, the endearing love the twins had for each other. Although they fought and bickered everyday, they were fiercely protective of one another. I want a sibling like that.

    Kilin nodded along with her daughter, jaw clenched in anger.

“No one hurts my children and gets away with it.”

What would Kilin do if she found out Auntie, Koo-Jungkook, V, and Bobby hurt me very badly?

What would she do when she realizes they made my fragile heart snap in two?

Would she hurt them?

----------------------------------------------------

We drove to the middle of the city, a giant fountain stood tall in the middle of the crowd. Golden statues that were at least 9 feet glimmered. Water spewed out from the fountain. The streets were filled with people decked in makeup and jewellery and they're finest clothes. People parted when they saw us, they whispered and pointed. I paid them all my attention. They made me insecure.

   Kilin and Jin hoped out first, gracefully. Then Lay, Jaeyoung, and I followed. Jaehyun hoped out and helped Hye Sun (his new girlfriend’s name) out. The two held hands. Instantly creating a low murmur. Everyone, especially the girls, looked envious of Hun Sye and asked where Bekah was. I guess Jaehyun and Bekah were a popular couple. Makes sense, both of them are from the sea dynasty and purebloods.

“Who’s that girl?”

“Where is Bekah?”

“Why would he trade Bekah for that?”

I glared at the girl that spoke, her nose was unnatu