~*~

I couldn't feel my hands.

I actually couldn't feel my whole body, but I could hear rustling sound somewhere in front of me.

"I know you're listening," a guy said, a voice that I didn't recognise. "And I really wanted you to know that what you made Hendery do... was a mistake."

What?? 

Then I suddenly remembered everything that has happened.

Hendery betrayed me, and he let them took the boys away.

I have to wake up and look for them, but I was still seeing nothing but darkness.

"You'll pay for it."

Then I heard footsteps slowly stomping away from where I was.

~

After a while I could hear another voice.

"Juli, I'm so sorry." 

It was Hendery.

"I didn't know they were going to take the boys like that."

But he did nothing to prevent them from taking Jaemin and Renjun!

"I only wanted you to know that they are safe." 

And then after that, a few seconds of silence.

"I really hope that you would wake up soon so I can explain this misunderstanding."

As the matter of fact, I actually want to hear nothing from him.

~

"You know, you shouldn't have had waterbend in front of Hendery."

My eyes were finally opening. It felt so heavy like my eyelids were glued to my waterline.

The first thing I saw was my hands, locked with a pillory.

A pillory. 

Am I in the 19th century now?

I was sitting on a wooden floor. I was in the corner of this small room. My body was leaning to the the right on a wooden wall.

Everything here was wooden.

My body was still feeling so heavy I doubt I could move a single muscle. I couldn't even lift my head up straight.

"What did you do to me?" I managed to say.

Even talking felt to be the hardest thing I could do at the moment.

"Nothing harmful is done to you, Lin only blocked your chi." 

The man said.

I wasn't inside a room, I was imprisoned.

The man standing behind the wooden bars was wearing a familiar looking maroon velvet suit.

It was Victor, the president of this place.

Seeing his face, I gritted my teeth. "What did you do to Jaemin and Renjun?"

"You seem to be so distressed, confused, angry, and have a lot of questions." He kneeled down to be as the same eye level as me.

You're damn right I am.

"You can do whatever you want to me, but please let them go." I tried to persuade him.

I will get out of this hell.

"I see there's a bit of a misunderstanding between us. I am not the enemy; I am not trying to take your friends away from you." He said.

"Then let me go..." I pleaded.

"I'm sorry my dear, but that, I can't do." He shook his head to the sides. "Though I am glad that you came here, and to have finally meet you."

"My biggest mistake." I muttered.

"I can assure you it is not. You will learn great things and do great things here." He smiled.

"As a prisoner?" I raised an eyebrow.

He sighed in defeat. "You can't blame me for being extra careful."

"What? Your guards cannot handle a little girl?" I tempted him.

He just continued to stare at me with an unreadable expression.

"Let. Me. Go." 

"You came here with your own free will. Tell me, dear, what made you decide to come here to Ramos?"

"I had no choice." I said quietly. "We were attacked, we didn't have anywhere to go."

"Why did you come here?" He emphasised, repeating his question.

I stared at the ground.

It's because of Hendery and because of Hendery; because I trusted him and above anything else, he has the same thing that I have: the curse.

"There's something inside of me." I finally confessed, my voice was almost a whisper. "Something that is destructive that can do great harm to people around me."

His facial expression was still not changing.

"I can't control it, and I'm afraid of it... and I want it gone." My voice was shaking.

It was my very first time saying about how I feel about my curse out loud. I've always felt ashamed of it so I would never admit it.

"What you have is a gift. What you need is a teacher, not getting rid of it." He corrected.

The I knew I just made my second mistake, I thought he would understand, but he didn't.

"Let me go..." I said, ignoring his reply.

"Once you agree to give me a chance, to give this place a chance... I will let you out of the restraining chamber, and you will be able to visit your friends."

"You don't understand what I've been through! You don't know what this thing you called gift has put me through! You don't know anything about me and you cannot help me!" I hissed.

Victor stood up slowly and turned around ready to leave, but he stopped. 

"Sometimes the best way to solve our problem is by letting others help us." He looked over his shoulder before proceeding to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I panicked.

He didn't stop walking