DΛY ƬΉЯΣΣ

The moment I wake up memories from the night before instantly rush to the forefront of my mind.

  Olivia, House Eden... 

I'd almost managed to convince myself that it was a figment of my imagination. That the words Heejin and Chuu told me managed to seep into my comatose state of mind, that I was speaking their words into existence through whatever spell I'd fallen into. All this, whatever this is-- it cant be real.
Lowe and behold, perhaps I should've anticipated that this would happen. There was no mistaking the feeling of sickness which shot through my body the minute I opened my eyes and realised where I was. There was no mistaking the disappointment I felt when I took in my surroundings and, as my luck would have it, I was in the exact same place as before. Wind softly bristled against the tents woven fabric, the faint sound of chatter incoherent to my hazy senses. Disappointed that I'm not back home with dad, that I'm stuck here. That maybe, this isn't a dream after all. 

Once I've found it within myself to push myself to my feet, legs no longer as weak as they were last night,  I briefly considered making a break for it-- not bothering to wait for Olivia and instead run as fast as I could away from here. 

But before I can even so much as take a step the familiar raven haired girl strides through the tents openings and quirks an eyebrow.

"You're awake."

"Thanks for noticing." I roll my eyes and release a short huff. Olivia hums.

"If I were you I'd drop the attitude before you meet the overseer."

"What's he going to do, kill me?"

A moment of silence. Olivia gives me a very pointed stare which has me retracting my question, my next words coming out in a hushed mumble.

"Forget I asked." 

"That's what I thought." I don't miss the small smirk which crosses Olivia's lips but it's gone as quick as it came as she suddenly turns back to the tents opening. She throws me a look over her shoulder. "Let's go."

No need to tell me twice. Being cramped up in this tent since last night was already managing to do wonders on me. I shrug off the small pins and needles which prong at my feet from lack of use and follow after her as she leaves the tent.

"Where are we going again?"

"The temple. The overseer resides there, it's not too far away by feet. He's waiting for-" Her words trail off as I find my attention being drawn elsewhere. Her words become a distant memory as it fades out of my senses, my sights now set on the world around me.

The second I'm submerged into the sunlight once more I feel my eyes widening and my mouth falling agape. Gravel crunches beneath my feet as my sole attention falls on the bustling people around me. It looked like a wide street, tents much like the one I just came from lined up alongside eachother. I watch as figures weave in and out around eachother, buckets and baskets alike held above their heads as they narrowly avoid eachother. In the middle of the street was men and women alike, stripped down to their burgundy tunics as they munch away on bread. But then my attention is drawn to a nearby chanting crowd who circle around two silver-plated people, engaging in what looked like sword to sword combat. It was then I realised where I was.

"This is the training grounds."

For somebody who couldn't 'read my mind' Olivia seemed to know exactly what I was thinking, her words slicing through the silence which consumed us as she watches me observe my surroundings. My eyes meet hers with a quirk of my eyebrow and she merely shrugs.

"I thought you couldn't read my mind."

"Call it intuition. I've been told I'm pretty good at that, too..." Olivia trails off as if reminding what she was suppose to be doing. She shakes her head and nods in another direction, motioning for me to follow her.

"We can't be late-"

Before I can even so much as respond I'm instantly stopped as two people suddenly appear at our sides. I meet their eyes as they both seem to glare at me, watching my every move. I don't miss the way their hands rest tightly on the hilts of the swords at their sides, seemingly anticipating violence. Giving them both a quick once over I notice they looked different to the guards I saw yesterday. The ones yesterday seemed to carry an air of royalty, their chest plates refined and tailored to perfection. Now that I think about it, they had spears-- not swords. I open my mouth with furrowed eyebrows to question their hostility but the smaller one speaks first.

"We're to accompany you to the temple. Take one wrong step and we will not hesitate to cut your head off."

My eyes widen as a shriek threatens to tear from the back of my throat, gulping down air as I take in their words. Just like clockwork, my saviour appears. I realise then as Olivia turns back around to face us that they didn't notice her presence. They must've been too preoccupied planning my murder that they didn't consider we had company. The minute they did, there's no mistaking how quick their faces paled.

"Touch the girl and I will make sure your heads are on stakes."

The two guards jump in fright as they turn to face the girl. Olivia glares at them with her lips pursed together. For a second her eyes flash the same enticing grey as they had last night and I automatically knew what she was doing. She was trying to read their minds.

Feeling more pairs of eyes on me I spare a quick glance at the staggering soldiers around us. Some of them levelled me with accusatory gazes, some with fright, and some refusing to look at me altogether. Before I can give it much more thought I'm tuned back to reality as the other guard speaks up this time.

"Forgive us, m'lady. We just don't understand what makes her so important."

Olivia narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

"None of that is your concern. What you should know is to not question orders. Take us to the temple of I'll be sure to get somebody else to do it for you. You wouldn't want word getting back to the commander, right?"

At the mention of the 'commander' both guards seem to pale impossibly further and straighten their backs, staring dead ahead and refusing to meet our gazes. I wasn't quite sure who this commander was and what power he held to make them still-- or perhaps Olivia really was as intimidating as I thought she was? Either way, I shake my head to rid myself of my thoughts as Olivia turns to look back at me.

"We must hurry. They are waiting."

___
 

I promised myself I'd never walk long distances ever again.

But here I am now. 

The ache in my ankles returns as I struggle to keep up with Olivia's fast pace, the two guards lingering not too far behind us as they watch over our surroundings. For the past I-don't-know-how-long we'd been following this same path, tents long gone now. It felt like we were walking down a large valley, green fields on either side of us. I don't bother asking Olivia if she even knew where we were going. Her strides were quick and purposeful as she not once lets up her pace, not even bothering to spare a glance in my direction. Watching her in this moment I feel a range of questions on the tip of my tongue, my mouth opening and closing several times however I come up short. I settle.

"Are we there yet?" The words slip from my lips before I can stop them. Olivia hums in response and lets down her pace so we're walking besides eachother now.

"Almost. If you have any questions I suggest you ask me now."

Got me again, Olivia. Part of me wanted to be stubborn and keep my mouth closed, not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she was one step ahead of me. But I ask my next question anyway against my willpower.

"Those guards don't look like the ones I saw before... why did they act like that?"

"The guards you met yesterday are from the palace and the ones following us now are military. You've scared them all after that incident in the forest."

For a moment I almost completely forgot what even happened. Her words bring the memories back to me; my hands, the light, the ring. I furrow my eyebrows.

"How do you even know about that? Look, I still don't know whether to believe you but one thing's for sure. I don't know what the hell happened and I want answers."

"It's hard not to read peoples minds no matter how hard I try, that's how I know. Now that you mentioned it that's actually why meeting you got me so frustrated, Y/N. I really thought that when I saw you again today I'd be angry. But I'm not." She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly as she