Everything that was happening around, and had already happened, seemed to me as an absolute and utter delirium. At the moment, I was waiting for the verdict of the council, which (as I understood) makes decisions here on a par with Chanyeol.

Sehun, who had become my laconic guard in recent days, stood nearby, leaning against the wall. My gaze moved to his leg, which suffered from my kick a couple of days ago. I felt ashamed again. It was not worth going to such extreme measures. I looked down at the new shoes that Mirae had given me from her own wardrobe. During these awful few days that I languished in anticipation, we became friends to some extent. Although, perhaps this is due to the fact that there was no one else to talk to?

After the night Chanyeol swore to protect me, he put me in a room next to his, but apparently he also ordered me to be completely isolated. I was not allowed to leave this room with any excuse other than going to the restroom and Oh Sehun was assigned to me as a guard, respectively.

The guy didn't talk to me. Not a single word. He just stood at my door and accompanied me if I asked to go to the restroom. Mirae visited me every day, also as Chanyeol's ordered, asking about my health. She was the only one who spoke to me. Through conversations with her, I learned that in the hierarchy of the rebels, their leader Phoenix is ​​in the first place and there is also a council that is practically on a par with him in importance. It consists of the best warriors with vast experience in battles and basically they do not disagree with the decisions of the leader, but this time there are major contradictions in the council.

The reason was obvious - the chosen one. After an unexpected attack (as I later learned, it was the king's hired guards) hatred for the chosen one boiled up in people and now many wanted bloodshred. My blood. Moreover, Chanyeol considered me a true chosen one, because I spread some ointment that healed him. He didn’t want to believe that I had no powers. And now, apparently, he also defended me in the council, which demanded to punish me in front of people.

My imprisonment lasted three days, but for me it dragged on like several weeks. On the first day I tried to escape from the window, but it turned out to be nailed down. The only way out was still the door, but Sehun always stood there every time. 

The second day was my next attempt to escape from the guy when he took me to the toilet, but this time I failed too. As soon as I tried to run away towards the forest, the guy immediately grabbed me, looked me in the eyes, and I again succumbed to his hypnosis. After that, my guard had already lost trust in me, each time hypnotizing me and returning my consciousness only when I returned to the room.

On the third day, I was already trying the window, attempting to somehow grab the nails and unscrew them, when the door opened. Sehun entered the room with the same indifference, surprising me that he had broken his unspoken vow of silence.

“Follow me.” Without explaining anything, not even giving a chance to answer, he just turned around, expecting instant obedience. Quite in his style. But I could no longer be in prison, no matter how scary it was, something unknown is much better than this tense nothingness.

So that’s how I ended up near to a small house and this closed door, where I had already stood for a long time. It was getting dark, the wind was howling, swaying the trees, but thanks to the generosity of Mirae, I was able to get rid of that uncomfortable dress and now I was warm in a cozy jacket with pants.

I tried to listen to what was happening inside, but I could not hear anything. My gaze once again shifted to the silent Sehun, who closed his eyes, leaning against the wooden wall. The feeling of guilt for the unnecessary kick returned every time I looked at him, but I could not bring myself to apologize in a depressing situation before. However, now is the time.

"Sehun ..." I stammered, meeting his tired gaze. Sleepless nights as a guarding dog clearly had a negative effect on him, or maybe he, like me, was tired of everything that was happening? For him, Chanyeol, and for all the people dragged into the latest events, this chosenness brought nothing but grief and desire for it to end faster.

“For how long do you plan to just stare at me?” I flinched from his words. Left thoughts once again occupied my mind, and I completely forgot that I wanted to tell him something. It's embarrassing.

“Well, I wanted to,” again, stumbling over half a sentence, I began to choose the right words. “I wanted to apologize. For hitting you. I didn't want to, I was just driven by emotions. And not only for that. Also, sorry for appearing here at all. What happened before ... all this sacrifice, destruction. I’m…"

Tears began to blur my vision and my voice trembled. All this time, the confinement was not even that I could not move freely, it wasn’t physical. It was more like that I was alone, alone with my thoughts. All these horrors that I saw with my own eyes burned me alive, aggravating my guilt. And the smell, the smell of burnt corpses, gunpowder ... Every time I felt it anew, at night I heard screams that did not let me sleep.

“I… have to apologize, I can't handle this…”

“Stop.” The guy said sharply, shutting me up not only with words, but also with a heavy look that he threw at me. “If you think you’re guilty, then stop crying, instead fix what happened. Chosen One.”

He put special emphasis on the last word. Chosen One. My eyes were full of tears but I could not take them away from Sehun. The guy also did not take his eyes off me. I saw neither sympathy nor pity in his eyes. Only cold indifference and ... understanding. Does he feel the same? Also unable to sleep at night?

As soon as I opened my mouth to ask him about everything, the long-awaited door opened.

Chanyeol came out of it, towering over me to his full height. He looked at me for a while as he was thinking about something. I looked back at him, noting that he looked much better than that night. That night I saw him for the last time.

“Changmi, come in.” His voice was harsh and he looked at me like I was a criminal. Reluctantly, I moved closer to him, staring at the floor. I walked through the door that he so kindly held for me.

My gaze did not rise from the dusty floor, although I could feel the gazes on me. Silence reigned inside the house and I was silent in response, staring at the floor, expecting that at least someone would give a voice, but everyone was silent. Behind me, I heard footsteps and the slam of the closed door which made me shudder. I slowly looked up.

A spacious room appeared before me, lit by several candles. No extra furniture, just a large table exactly in the middle. At this table were the sources of gazes that were so scary to look at. Four people. Three men and one woman, not counting Chanyeol and Sehun. And all eyes were on me.

“So, this is your chosen one?” One of the men said with a mockery in his voice. In a strange way, his appearance seemed familiar, as if I had already seen him. He looked at me point-blank with a heavy, mocking look. “She's too weak for the one who will save us.”

“With all due respect, but Phoenix, what did you think to bring her to us? Even that past ‘chosen one’ looked more fitting than her.” The only woman answered in turn, more with skepticism. Her appraising gaze made me shiver and I unconsciously backed away, bumping into someone.

“She looks like a scared kitten.” The familiar-faced man laughed. He had a large scar all over his face that wrinkled at his every laughter. I felt more scared, it seemed that my legs were giving way. I was already about to crumble on the floor, when someone's strong hands fell on my shoulders, supporting me. Looking back, my eyes met Chanyeol's, the corners of his lips lifted in a barely noticeable smile as if supporting me. 

However, at that moment the scar-man's laughter stopped and he turned to me again. “But there is nothing to discuss anymore, people want her to be executed.”

He was serious, this time not oozing sarcasm or mockery in his voice. He didn't say this just to intimidate me. And that was even scarier.

“She's just a hindrance. I don't think that she can somehow outweigh in the fight against the privileged.” The same woman with short hair grunted, leaning back into a chair.

“Wow, for the first time I agree with a man in a skirt, this girl has brought only problems so far.” The man with the scar supported the woman, who turned to him.

“You're doing the right thing, Six. Did the rudiments of intellect finally appear in your head?”

“Trust me, to understand that the girl is useless, I didn’t need your inference.”

“Inference? Learning difficult words I see.”

The skirmish between the two of them seemed normal in a way; they didn't even look at each other while talking, but there was still tension in the room. Or maybe only I felt it.

“Six, Four, maybe we won't show our unprofessionalism in front of the Chosen one?” One man out of two, who had been silent all this time, raised his voice. He looked at the two others with a smile and there was no threat or reproach in his words, but those arguing fell silent. 

I examined him with my eyes, trying to understand who he was. The man had soft features, thin lips, a straight nose, and even his hair was neatly smoothed down, which made him look like a prince rather than part of this council. His moon shaped eyes were glowing with kindness and ... something hidden. The glasses hid his gaze, but it seemed as if he saw right through people, which made a shiver run through when he looked at me. 

His glasses gleamed, reflecting the light of the candle. “I'm glad to finally meet the one that sounded like a fairy tale. I am Zhang Yixing, a doctor in the local camp and now you can start with a simple one: what should we call you, Chosen one?”

All eyes were focused on me again and my throat went dry and thoughts left my head. I need to get together. I cleared my throat and answered the question posed:

“Lee Changmi*.” The voice sounded weaker than I expected, but everyone heard me.

“Changmi.” The guy with glasses said as if trying my name out loud. He did not stop smiling, which made a dimple appear on his cheek, so I couldn’t take my eyes off it. "Do you know why you ended up here, Changmi?"

I was silent for a while, once again collecting my thoughts into a logical chain.

“Because of the last attack?” I answered with hesitation, staring at the floor again.

“Bingo.” The man with the scar, who is apparently called the Six, loudly clapped his hands. “Now every victim wants to do to you what they did to them. Burn. However, you saw everything yourself.”

The man looked at me with familiar disdain and realization hit me. This is the man who was on the battlefield, the one who saw me with Sehun!

“So, let’s burn her and the whole deal is over.” This time the voice belonged to a man who was sitting farther from the others. He was large, dressed in some kind of furs that looked like a bear. He had a heavy and empty lo