~*~

"Hendery is a spy."

I just stared at him.

How— how dare he? How could he say something like that?

"No." Voice barely came out of my mouth because my breath was caught up in my chest. "He will never hurt me."

"He almost did, Juli." Taeyong whispered.

The night at the gym.

"How is he a spy? For who? For her? Who the is her? Is it the dark witch?"

Taeyong didn't say anything.

He always had something to say. He would explain things and open up to me. 

"What do you know Taeyong? You said you know everything. What exactly do you know?" I squinted my eyes at him.

"I tried my best to not get myself involved in this mess, but now I have to. Because you're in it. I'm the only one who you can trust right now." Taeyong took my hand.

I was supposed to refuse him.

I barely knew him. He only helped me once, compared to Hendery who has risked his life over and over again for me.

As much as I was tempted to run away, I didn't.

"We have to get out of here so I can tell you." 

We walked over to Ms. Daisy.

"I assumed you have accessed the portals for a few times, correct?" Taeyong asked softly.

I nodded as a yes.

"This will be not much of a difference, and I just want you to stay calm and trust me."

"What are we doing, Taeyong?"

"Shadow travel."

Taeyong helped me hop on to Ms. Daisy before he got himself up behind me.

I felt myself dissolving into shadow.
 

~
 

We appeared on a beach.

Then I realized it was the beach that Taeyong and I first met each other. Why would he bring us here?

Oh and the shadow traveling? Way worse than when you use portals. We were going so fast, in the dark, and you could feel as if your face was peeling off to the back.

Then I started to feel the fatigue. So this is what people have been talking about after they use the portal.

I dropped down to my knees and panted. But then I realized, my breathing was heavy not because of the fatigue.

It was because my chest was really hurting.

I wanted to scream.

I trusted Hendery.

I let him go near my family.

But how could I not trust him? We have been through so much together.

Is Taeyong even telling the truth??

"Juli," Taeyong called, his voice so gentle.

"How do I know if I could trust you?" My voice started to shake.
 

"I would have told the 127 in the chamber that you are the princess, or should I say... the Avatar."
 

I thought the day when I finally hear those words, people would grab me and send me to the dark witch, kill me on the spot or take me somewhere to be tortured. Even though I don't remember the crimes that I seem to have committed, that I have to be punished like this.

The fear of people knowing who you are, who you truly are. Without even remembering what I did, or didn't.

Now I am even more scared, hearing this from Hades' son, one of the big three.

What is he going to do to me?

The Great Prophecy.

He must have known about that.

What I know from Yuta is, I am somehow also in the Great Prophecy.

Yuta loathes who I actually am. He loathes the princess of the Fire Nation, who also happens to be the Avatar—the one who controls all of the four elements—me.

"So you hate me now?"

"What??"

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Juli..." 

I slid away before he could place his hand on me. 

I cannot let him know or gives out the impression that I am vulnerable at the moment. 

Because I am.

I am so confused.

"Don't ing touch me."

He dropped on his knees to be on my eye level. "You know—deep down, you know that I will never hurt you."

I don't know who to trust anymore or what to believe.

I want to believe Taeyong, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

"Hendery won't hurt me."

"Why did you even come with me here in the first place?"

"You gave me no choice! After what you said about Hendery?? What did you expect me to do? I don't even know who to trust anymore."

"You can trust me, Juli."

"You have one thing that you can use to blackmail me and I will be done for."

"And why would I do that? Blackmail you?"

The wind pushed my hair back, the cold made me shiver slightly.

"If they know the truth, everyone actually hates me, Taeyong. My friends, Ten, Yuta... I am pretty sure everyone hates me  and wants me dead except Victor, my uncle, and Hendery, because I am assuming he knows, right?"

Taeyong remained silent.

"He knows who I really am, and he is from the Fire Nation. But then, he still protects me and never said anything. I can assure you he is a good guy, Taeyong.  And it's my turn to save him now."

I turned my he