Between the orange color of the sunset and the black one of the night, just before the sun disappeared like every day far on the horizon, the sky was painted with an infinite blue color that resembled of Autumn's eyes. There was a world in them, a galaxy of bright stars that woke up in every blink. However, her inner beauty was inherited from the delicacy of her mother who lived and died for her daughter until her last breath. The afternoon when her mother left forever the summer sky held white clouds like cotton, while a black-furred crow flew over the small sailboat that sank in the calm waters, in the middle of an empty place where the coast was barely visible. Autumn was only 8 years old when death almost took her soul, while her body sank to the bottom of the sea as if she weighed like lead; down to the blackness that consumed her vision completely, a place where there was no fear, neither air nor light, where there was nothing but endless darkness.

"Autumn..." Jonghyun called her name softly, because her mind seemed far from that world. "Let's go home. Okay? I already talked to the police and everything is... almost resolved."

"Almost?"

Sitting on that uncomfortable brown couch of bad memories in the waiting room of the hospital, her body shook slightly, like the sailboat that ran through the calm waters just before the weather turned against them. And Autumn waited, while Jonghyun sat down next to her, that something else would come and hit her world to make her fall again, because that was how the worst moments came; in an absolute silence. Autumn tried to fight against that negative attitude inside her, but that young man simply shook her world completely, and she wouldn't feel at peace until she found the answers to the doubts that he brought with him.

"The case will be resolved when they find a relative of his."

Autumn could see herself in that same place, on that same couch, 16 years ago, thinking that her hopes and good faith would keep her family alive; but in the present that young man was alone, inside that cold room with white walls, without any positive thoughts to accompany him.

"Just a few more minutes, okay? Maybe he wakes up... and tells us something about himself."

Jong sighed with fatigue and distrust after the effort they made to bring the man to where he was now, but he took Autumn's hand and held it between them, because he kept thinking too about what would have happened if they lost that young man before arriving at the hospital. It would have been another loss in his life and in Autumn's life. He was so badly hurt that the idea of ​​healing him in their home made sense for a moment when Jonghyun took him to the dry sand, and the insistence of that man and his refusal to a healer, as he called him before losing consciousness for the second time, it was what put the Kim family on the edge of that meaningless idea, but in the brief moment when he opened his eyes again and asked the angel to help him, Autumn saw that his eyes were brown as chocolate, that he was scared and he needed a real doctor.

And although Jonghyun didn't trust the man who had been wounded by a knife that almost pierced his heart, now he was there in that hospital bed, breathing.

"Okay. But try to sleep a bit at least."

As the minutes passed, Autumn began to notice that much was missing around her, like the waves of the sea, the sound of them, and the smell of salt that filled her nose every day. The sunlight entered through the window from her right side and took place in every corner of the room, bathing with light the walls and the white floor, illuminating too part of the profile of her brother as he silently observed the place that was so familiar to both of them. And Autumn could see that child again, only 3 years older than her, sitting next to her, while their parents gave a last breath before leaving forever. And then they were only empty bodies, like broken shells, with nothing inside to love or give love.

"Don't go there, Jong. That happened long ago."

Jonghyun laughed softly because of her voice that still sounded like the girl he grew up with, but his face relaxed completely, his features turning him back into that little boy who lived a life next to his little sister being raised by a grandfather that loved them as a father. A substitute father who protected them, who comforted them because of the pain, who worked hard to give them the best. Jonghyun knew that Autumn was in that dark place of her own memories too, because both used to move at the same time as if their souls were connected as he used to say, but who had the courage to mention it first was who would comfort the other.

"Do you want me to sing you a song?"

Autumn smiled softly, because she loved that moment in her life when a song made things better.

"End of a day?"

When he heard her, his chest filled with air in a soft inhalation, and Jonghyun sang softly, in barely a whisper that he knew how to control, those sincere verses he wrote thinking about his sister. No matter how hard his day could be, no matter how hard it was sometimes to continue without his mom's kisses or his father's hugs, when he returned home he received the love of the people who loved him sincerely.

Because even though we’ve been in different worlds all day
we always end the day together

Sometimes sad thoughts and distant memories made him stop for a moment and think about what he lost, fear made him anguish in silence, but loneliness dissipated when he got home at the end of the day and towards the love of his family. Jonghyun sang honestly, because he knew that from time to time, when the waves didn't hit the shore, when the sea didn't sing at all, the silence tried to consume Autumn's mind too, wondering likewise if her mother could hear her prayers or if her father was watching the same moon just like she did from the window of her own room.

Your small shoulders, your small hands
Become my cozy blanket at the end of a tiring day

There were situations they couldn't control or that were too painful to tell the other, but Jonghyun knew that Autumn would always have kind words to soothe his sorrows and doubts, and at the same time, she knew that he was strong enough to hold her when the weight of the sad memories tried to make her fall.

You did a good job today; you worked so hard
You are my prize

As the minutes turned into an hour or more and he fell asleep with his head in her lap covered by her white pants, Autumn wondered if Jonghyun listened to his own angel voice, she wondered if he himself could feel everything she felt. His breathing became soft, the weight of his body ceased to be his, and Autumn hoped that, if he dreamed, it was the best dream of all. Autumn closed her eyes too, but when she opened them again she moved against the arm of the sofa, without Jong at her side, only with her arm numb after holding part of her face as she watched that doctor talking to a child a few steps away from her, while the sound of the waves filled her ears and the lights of the sunset greeted through the windows of the place.

"Angel, wake up."

As if an electric current were moving all over her body in a single second, Autumn woke with an exhalation, removing her cheek from her numb arm against the bed in an upward movement, which caused part of her hair to cover her face. Autumn pushed back on the couch and rubbed her clenched eyes with her fists, listening to her heart beating in her ears as she moved away from that memory inside her head of the doctor talking to Jong, trying to explain to a child that his parents had left forever.

But right there when she opened her eyes again, the injured man was gone.

Autumn was alone, breathing hard, and she stared at the cold-colored room, the empty bed, and the blackness of the night that dimly obscured the entire place like never before. It felt as cold as if the night were made of pure ice. Her legs trembled when Autumn got up, but she walked towards the door with a light step until her hand touched the handle of the door and she turned her wrist to open it, too surprised to stop herself to fear for what could be of the other side. It was a strangely but beautiful sensation, as if she were out of her own body, as if she had become more sensitive inside that dream. Autumn inhaled the air around her home, so salty that she could almost feel it in . From the other side of that door, the sun that began to show itself far on the horizon threw its brightest colors to the world, blinding Autumn for a moment while her brown boots touched the sand when she walked out of the house towards that star that, although it was so bright, was so beautiful in the landscape. The sun was calling her, as if screaming in the absolute silence of that dream, warming her skin to the point where it seemed so real.

"Angel?"

Autumn held her breath, forgetting whatever thoughts she might have while the mysterious voice sent a chill down her body that shook her heart. Her nervous hands pushed her black hair behind her ears, getting a perfect view of the landscape, but not of someone who seemed to be behind her, making her feel vulnerable in her own dream. As the wind continued to blow, as in real life it would do, Autumn gave up on the fear and turned carefully, just to glanced at the half- young man who was already a few steps away from her. His brown hair gleamed in the sunlight, his bangs covering part of his eyebrows. His pale, muscular skin held the patch over his chest, just at his heart's height, and yet he looked as strong as healthy, while his trousers hung from his hips.

"Did you do this?" He pointed with his right hand toward the patch on his chest, his eyes fixed on her confused look.

Autumn squeezed her eyes quickly in an attempt to awaken from the dream where she could feel everything around her, but everything was still the same when she looked back at him.

"Yes. Well... something like that."

"How?"

Autumn's eyebrows frowned slightly in confusion, because his firm voice showed how anxious he seemed to be.

"It's a patch; you put it on the wound to protect it-"

"No, not the patch." He shook his head and his brown hair danced over his forehead. "How did you heal the wound? How did you do this?"

He tightened his fingers around the edge of the patch and pulled the tape to show her what he thought she had done. Autumn's hand stopped in the air halfway to an exclamation, but she was unable to utter a word when her eyes looked at the wound that was now a small crack in his pale skin. Autumn looked at it in silence when the surprise took the words out of for a few seconds: the blood had stopped emanating, the flesh red inside could no longer be seen, and the long cut had become scarcely a scratch, almost as if it had never happened.

"It wasn't me." She said breathlessly, and looked back at him to make her words more real. "I didn't do that."

Despite the confusion, the first prince thought that the waters of Black Rock were never as blue as the color of her eyes, the sea of ​​his home was never as alive even during a storm as her eyes were in that moment. The people in his home were no longer born with sky-colored eyes. The legends that his grandfather told him didn't make sense when looking at that young woman, the one who unknowingly challenged the whole history of the world in which he lived. For him, she seemed so vulnerable and yet so strong. The strength and weakness that he saw in her became an aura that enveloped her, as attractive as a magnet, as if he had known her all his life.

"Autumn..." He said softly, so personal that it made her lose her breath.

"How do you know my name?"

His brown eyes gleaming in the sunlight caught her confused gaze, and to Jinki, her warm eyes contrasted the idea that blue was a cold color, because her gentle expression despite the fear in her soothed his emotions for some strange reason. For a prince who had read books about the world in which she lived, Jinki felt lost in a place that defied all the truths that the historians of his world wrote. Although a prince never belittled a person, the dark history of her world showed to him that some humans could be selfish, fearful of the unknown, but here she was, facing him, someone she didn't know anything about.

"You're losing yourself in your memories, angel, that's why I need you to wake up." Jinki stopped, hoping that she could believe his words. "Something bad is happening in your world, and I think it's my fault. Please wake up; I need you to help me to go back to the beach where you found me. I think that if I go back to my world, all this will disappear."

"Y-your world?" Autumn looked away because of her incoherent thoughts, and the future king felt lost again in that strange world that resembled his. The dizziness she felt made her lose her vision for a brief second, because none of that made any sense in her mind. "And my brother? What happened to my brother?"

Autumn felt the anxiety crawling inside her body, and suddenly the salty air around was too strong for her nose and the heat of the sun burned her skin too quickly. Even being in a vivid dream next to a stranger and under the sun's fire on her skin, all she could think about was her brother. Being so far away from him felt like she was about to lose him so soon, as unexpectedly as she lost her family.

"Autumn?"

The prince turned around towards that male voice, slightly familiar but one that he didn't recognize quickly, and he placed himself in front of Autumn, like a shield in front of the only person that should be in the mind of the angel.

"Who are you?" The future king asked, his voice as firm as his personality to rule his kingdom.

Standing at the same door Autumn walked out, Jonghyun's hand became a fist for that commanding voice, causing him to blame himself for being so far away from her.

"Listen, you idiot, you better get away from my sister before I lose my patience."

The first prince frowned in confusion, because Jong's eyes were as black as his hawk's hair, as dark as the night sky in Black Rock, just the opposite of the girl's eyes that he tried to protect behind him. But just when he started to get upset because lying to royalty was a serious fault, it was that same girl who put a hand on his arm gently, making him shudder under his strong muscles as she looked at him with kind eyes.

"Everything is fine. Jonghyun is my brother."

Autumn surrounded the prince and approached Jonghyun, closing her arms around his waist as he cradled her in his body, the heat emanating from him as a confirmation that he was real in that strange place that looked like her home.

"Angel... how did you bring him here?"

Autumn turned away from Jong, watching with confusion between the man who defied the natural laws of the world and her brother who was right there in front of her. She could feel him; the firmness of his muscles under his shirt and his love for her shining in his eyes. Jonghyun was there in flesh, too real to be just a dream. And, therefore, even though she thought she was going crazy, Autumn told herself that if that was just a dream, that meant her brother wasn't real. Which, ironically, was crazy because she could feel him. 

"What do I do to wake up?"

Jinki didn't wait for a second and extended his hand to her, relieved to notice that she seemed to start believing him, but without taking any steps so that she would come to him first, to trust him even when nothing made sense. The story he said shouted lie inside her head, so loud that she didn't listen to her own thoughts, but if he was hiding something, those lies didn't make him look like a bad person in front of her eyes, as if she had the ability to see through his eyes, towards a soul that didn't seem to be dark even though everything he said seemed to be false. Autumn sighed deeply and approached him, raising her hand until he touched hers in an infinite second that made Autumn pull away, because the touch of her skin with the prince's was so electric and alive that it made her blood runs inside her veins.

And that's when Autumn woke up, for real this time.

Autumn was about to fall before Jonghyun caught her from behind, as if she had awakened from a dream so deep that it took all her strength. The night wasn't as dark as in her dream when she woke up alone in the hospital room, and Autumn heard the sound of the waves clearly this time soothing her heart, and this time the smell of salt felt fresh in her nostrils. She pushed her hair back to have a full view of the sea of ​​her childhood, only to see the man who was inside her dreams, still there, standing, dressed in the clothes he wore when the Kim family found him floating in the sea.

Behind him, the sun no longer shone, but the night was the same as it should be.

"I..." Autumn tried to speak through the lump in , turning her gaze to her brother. "I had a very strange dream, Jong-"

"It was not a dream, angel."

"Hey..." Jonghyun frowned, not showing the stranger the fear inside him as he felt awakening from his own dream. His lips trembled before he continued speaking, but Jong took a deep breath before do it again. "Stop with that nickname and start saying something that makes sense."

"Wait…"

Autumn separated from her brother, as if her thoughts about her grandfather had pushed her away from him. When both looked into each other's eyes, fear awoke within them. Jonghyun was also on the verge of madness with all the things he lived in his own mind, but in that place it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and yet the night had never been so dark before. He was scared, because he had relived the memories that only happened once in his life; like to feel the water in his lungs the afternoon he nearly drowned, or the pain in his body during that car accident when he was 20 years old.

"Autumn..." Her brother started, but she had simply lost the ability to listen to him.

She dodged him before Jonghyun could stop her, and Autumn pushed the door open to face the pain of seeing her home destroyed, as if a tornado had been created inside her small house, wiping out all the things that were not only things but that meant something to her family. Jonghyun's piano had large scratches as if a big animal had passed its claws over it. The shelves of books on each side of the TV were on the floor now, the wood broken into several pieces, the books scattered all over the place, like the paintings that his grandfather used to paint close to the window. The kitchen floor was full of broken porcelain pieces of plates and cups, and as Autumn came closer, she watched sadly at her grandfather's favorite cup, broken into several pieces as well.

"This is not happening, right?" Autumn turned her gaze to the door where her brother was, feeling that she was on the verge of losing her mind, but she waited, only for someone to tell her that the pain that was tearing at her soul was part of a very realistic dream. "Please tell me I went crazy because none of this..." She pointed around. "Makes sense."

Behind Jonghyun, Jinki felt that although Autumn was feeling completly lost, something inside her was still conscious, something inside her still wanted to believe that what was happening was real. The impossible seemed to be the only answer for her and the best one, it was that or lose her mind. For Jinki, it was a great surprise that a human tried to believe in the impossible; for him, Autumn was challenging his beliefs, and Jinki took the opportunity for her to trust in him again.

"Even though it's hard to believe, I come from a world that crosses through the depths of the ocean." Jinki took a step forward, attracting the attention of the Kim siblings towards him. "Last night, someone came into my home and tried to kill me, and all I remember is to fall from the balcony, and sink deeper and deeper into the water until I feel the heat of the sun again, and then I saw you. This is you, angel. What is here is you. In my world, there is a legend about a person who turned into a beast and was chained to hell, and I think he is chasing me now, and it's the person or a thing that put your whole world to sleep; that's why the night was as dark as it had ever been. But for some reason, the spell he put on this world had no effect on you two; or maybe that is what it wanted."

"Why? Who are you?" Autumn felt so dizzy that the room seemed to move under her feet. The pain and fear inside her felt real but she tried to have rational thoughts; a physical body wouldn't be able to overcome the time and space to travel from the hospital to her home in a blink, or to change the hours from day to night. "Why would he let us wake up? What does he want from us? What does he want with our grandfather?" 

Jinki took a deep breath before speaking, ready to tell the truth even if they could not believe him.

"My name is Lee Jinki and my family is one of the descendants of the Sun; my younger brother and I belong to one of the 7 royal families that still have some of the magic that everyone had before, that's why I was able to bring you both here. I don't know why he took your grandfather; I don't know if the one who stabbed me is the same one that is causing all this. That's why I need to go back to my world; I have a teacher who knows more than anyone about this... person. He will tell me why this is happening, and how to bring your grandfather back." 

"He took Grandpa to take revenge on you?" Jonghyun asked patiently, even if he felt impatient after hearing the prince's words that only complicated his thoughts. "What do we have to do with you?"

"Nothing. You are only the collateral damage to the history of my world. And I'm so sorry." Jinki swallowed, because for a prince whose duty was to protect his kingdom, that responsibility escaped his hands with the Kim siblings. "And among the brimstone of hell the beast will live, and from the hatred of the world he will feed. When he strengthens his soul, he will paint the sky black and try to kill the Sun. Before becoming what he is now, the beast used to be King Klaus of Summer Storm, one of the seven kingdoms of my world. The legend says that the king lost his mind and hate consumed him and tried to destroy our world, so the Sun took away his magic and chained him to hell. The Sun took the magic of the 7 kingdoms too, turned them into 7 pearls and gave them to his direct descendants, to the royalty of each kingdom to be their protectors, and I think that is what he wants; if he gets the 7 pearls he will have all the power of our world."

"It's very cruel to call beast to someone who used to be a person." Autumn said, and although she knew that saying it didn't matter, she said it anyway.

Jinki smiled slightly, almost sadly.

"I'm sorry, angel."

"And what do we do then?" Jonghyun asked, not caring too much about a former person. "How do we bring our grandfather back?"

"No." Jinki shook his head. "You can not go with me. No one has crossed from one world to another and-"

"Well, this will be the first time." Jonghyun replied, and his voice sounded as firm as he wanted it to sound. "That man, beast, or I don't know what it is, took our grandfather for you, and without him we have nothing here. You can not leave us here waiting in the dark without knowing if you will return. You have to take us with you until the sun comes out in our world and our grandfather comes home. We saved you, and you owe it to us."

The thought of putting two innocent souls in danger was hard for Jinki, but looking at Autumn who held his gaze, he realized that neither Jonghyun nor she would give up until they see their grandfather again. And that made Jinki wonder what two mortals would be willing to do to save their family and protect each other.

"It could be dangerous."

"Please understand." Autumn said, softly. "Without Grandpa, nothing makes sense to us."

Only a few days ago Jinki was in his world, with his brother, witnessing the planning of his coronation that was so close to happen, and now, he was in a different world, with a wound on his chest that healed without his magic, and being chased by a thing just because he was the protector of a pearl. The soon-to-be prince was smart, but not even him could know what might happen in the future, however, the only thing that Jinki did knew for sure at that moment, was that the Kim siblings were willing to face the unknown just to see their grandfather again.

"Okay." Jinki sighed. "We need to go beyond where you found me. To cross into my world, we need to swim to the bottom of the sea."

Just when she thought she could be brave, Autumn felt as if the prince's words were pulling her back to that dark place inside her where her fear lived. Upon hearing his words, Jonghyun turned, in silence, holding Autumn's gaze who remained in place, cold, because to rescue his grandfather, Autumn would have to face one of her worst fears; enter the water, go the place she feared most.  

"Okay..." She said, too numbed by what was happening. "Let's go."

While Jonghyun entered his room to prepare a backpack with what he considered necessary, Autumn took her white cardigan that was still on the sofa, and she clung to it only to stop looking around, towards an empty and broken home that she no longer recognized as hers, because the walls of that house no longer felt warm, as if that place were a copy of her true home. Autumn wondered if his grandfather would be fine right now, if he was hurt or scared, if he could hold on until they met again.

"I'm so sorry, angel." Jinki stopped at her side, wanting to do more than just say words. "I didn't want this to happen to you."

Autumn took a deep breath, to give herself a few seconds to speak without her voice shaking.

"I know, and I know it's not your fault, but I just need you to understand that... grandpa means everything to us. Okay?"

Jinki nodded, feeling able to understand the love she had for him.

"Okay."

Jonghyun returned to the living room, wearing a brown jacket under his white T-shirt and the strap of his backpack hanging from his shoulder, ready for whatever awaited them from across the ocean. The thought of his grandfather who needed his help was what allowed the Kim siblings to leave home and move forward, walking on the sand near the beach with the night over them until they reached the dock. A row of timbers built a path in a straight line to the end, where his grandfather's little motorboat was moored for years. The water around danced calmly, like a cruel joke that everything would be fine before the storm came.

"Come on, Autumn." From the boat, Jonghyun extended his hand to her, and Autumn took it, clinging to it tightly before settling on the boat. "Everything will be fine, darling."

With her heart pounding in her ears, Autumn sat near the bow, with Jinki close to her, while Jonghyun lit the engine that made a loud noise before carrying them forward. The wind blew moving her hair, pushing it back as Autumn clung to the warmth of her cardigan, watching the landscape in front of her; nothing more than a sky that seemed to have no end and miles and miles of water that didn't show anything below, although perhaps, only fear and despair.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Autumn heard his voice over the sound of the engine, surprising her slightly until she turned to the prince.

"Yes."

"Why your eyes are so blue?"

Autumn considered the question even though she knew the answer very well. She knew her eyes looked more like her father's, than her mother's who loved her until her last breath. Autumn's pupils didn't have a black edge like her father's, her eyes were only blue as vivid as the color of the sea on a summer's day. 

"My father has... he had the same eye color."

Jinki nodded, still not understanding why in his world people were no longer born with that color in her eyes.

"I think they are beautiful."

For a moment, Autumn stopped feeling the movement of the boat, because she didn't expect words like that in a situation like that.

"Thank you."

Autumn looked away, just as Jonghyun stopped the boat in the middle of nowhere, a place that both of them recognized immediately, but for Jonghyun, who had not returned to board a boat after that afternoon, that was the only place he knew that could work to cross to the other side. Jong and Jinki were the first to stand up, trying to see beyond the thicket of water, maybe, for some path that would take them to another world. Although Jonghyun wasn't completely sure of what they were about to do, or to believe completely in the story of the prince and a beast tied to hell, his destroyed home and the claw marks on his piano were the proofs he needed to cross, so Jonghyun knew he would go to the very end of the world only to see again the man he reconized as a father.

"What now?" Jong asked.

"We swim to the bottom without stopping. Don't be afraid, and even if everything becomes dark, swim until you see the light again." Jinki, who had crossed into their world without any intention, remembered perfectly the history books, which mentioned that they should only swim in a straight line to the very bottom, until you find the surface that was on the other side. "Will you be alright, angel?"

Jonghyun looked at Autumn as well and watched as she nodded at him, with no expression on her face, which perfectly covered the fear she felt. Jinki wanted to do more for her than just let her swim to the other side, but he knew, he felt that she could do it by herself as the story said, so he was the first to jump into the water, creating circles in it that expanded outward, moving further and further away until they disappeared under the gaze of the remaining two.

"You go first." Autumn said, wishing her moment would be postponed longer.

"Autumn-"

"Please, Jong. I just need a minute."

Jonghyun needed all his strength to let Autumn go behind him, because like Jinki, Jonghyun trusted that she would do it alone. Despite the fear, Jong knew that she would not give up before trying, so he jumped into the water, drawing in it large circles that moved outward under Autumn's gaze, with the bewitched sky over her because of that soul that was condemned. 

"Give me the courage I need, mom. Please." Autumn closed her eyes, for a second, almost to the edge of tears as she felt the heavy memories of that tragic afternoon.

Autumn put one foot on the edge of the wood, and with the darkness of the world around her, she jumped into the unknown. It was a long time ago since Autumn entered the water and the cold almost froze her lungs, it surrounded her so fast that her heart was about to stop. As Autumn swam toward the light she could not see yet, the anxiety for a way out almost consumed her senses, almost drove her back and look for the air in her own world. For a second, she thought that the air in her lungs wouldn't get her to the other side, that her heart would die long before she saw her grandfather again, but then, just at the moment when her most cowardly thoughts showed her that she wouldn't succeed, Autumn saw a ring of bright light in the infinite darkness.

With a last strength in her arms and legs, she found herself breathing again, kicking to stay afloat in a new sea near her brother and a prince, under the great view of a huge cliff that seemed to rise to the night sky. Up there, at the top, a huge castle with brown walls stood majestically, and that was when Autumn began to believe that everything was true. She exhaled deeply when she understood that everything was real, and then it was too much for her, and it surpassed her, it exceeded her strength and her good heart, but just when she was about to stop swimming, he caught her, the first prince held her tight against his body, with kind eyes that seemed to say, I've got you... angel.

Jinki was a prince, and her grandfather was in danger.

---

Hello! 
I hope you like this new chapter. Comments are always welcome. Subscribe if you want! 
(Sorry if you see some grammatical errors, English is not my first language but I will try to fix them if there are any.)
But as always, thank you!