"That wretched girl is finally vulnerable, she'll stay asleep unless I do something about it. If you want to take your revenge I would advise you to do it now." A woman spoke, her features covered with an inky veil. She looked down at the man with a white gauze wrapped around his head with her gown of deep violet. Sitting on a dirty mattress, he stared out at the shattered window, the old home, made out of moldy wood. "Baekhyun has grown with his swordsmanship, to think he might've surpassed you by now." He listened to her honeyed voice, dripping of sweetness but tasting of poison.

"No one can surpass me." His voice is croaky, he hasn't spoken to anyone in months. "I will kill those two. No matter what." He spoke so fluidly, the sound of sugary ignorance. His dark chocolate orbs, a dull look, his finger jerking ever so slightly.

"Will you kill them even if it means you can die?" She asked, her tone seemed to vibrate, echoing melodically of bells and lullabies.

"Yes." She smiled, her pearly teeth brightening through her crimson lips.

"Good, soon they will hurt each other. Mellia has become a thorn, she knows too much. Don't put my magic to waste, there are children to kill."

~~*~~

"It's been a week! My daughter is lying there, and I don't even know if she's going to live another day! You useless doctors!" Mother combed through her hazelnut hair, burning pine eyes glaring at the old men with white coats, head bent to stare at the ground. "And you're telling me there's nothing wrong with her?! She's not waking up, there must be a reason!"

"Mother, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep screaming," I muttered, my eyes stared down at the small figure lying pale on the bed. We thought she was going to wake up the next day like she always did, but this was different. Panic arose on the third day, and suddenly none of us could sleep. I felt exhausted, my body ready to shut down, but the thought that Mellia could wake up any second and needing someone to see kept us all with open eyes and aching bodies.

"Do you think I'm that weak that I can fall from a little lecture? Suho, you are outright worse than me. None of you are sleeping, and eating has become a chore. Do you think Mellia would want to see you like this when she wakes up?" I felt her hands hold on to my shoulder, "I know Mellia is someone all of you care about, but this isn't right. Your father will worry."

A scoff left me too quickly, if that man worried about me, then this kingdom will prosper. Mother has been blinded. She is loved by him, though she doesn't see who he truly is. He is violent, cruel, and barbaric. It truly is a miracle that he knows how to love. Our country might be large, but there are only corruption and destruction crawling around. This is beginning to become something far more than we could've hoped, a reality that would soon crumble this family. That could even kill Mellia. I went blank, no. Mellia will not die, not when there is a way when we still stand and breathe. Velstia is using black magic, and we...Were children. Ordinary, useless. Where would we even start? A glimmer of a thought crushed in a second. I will not ask for his help.

"All of you! Get out if you're going to be fruitless!" There was a glimmer of fear in the words of irritation. If they couldn't help her, who could? I stared down at the small being, shut dark baggy eyes. Do we beg for Velstia to undo whatever she put on Mellia? For what cost? Begging will only make it worse. All we could do now was wait for Mellia to open her eyes on her own. Mother sat next to me, her hand grasping for the petite ones of Mellia's then touching them to her forehead. "My child, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. But please, if you open your eyes...I'll do anything. I'll never leave your side." She whispered. Mother never gave us an exact explanation of why she brought in Mellia. Her only words were that she wanted a daughter after already having so many sons. We accepted it mindlessly then terrorized her because she wasn't how we saw fit. Except, did she have a choice? Her two options, take the hand of the woman who married the king and lives a lavish life of never knowing when to be hungry or sleep on the streets, pleading for spare change and praying to not starve for a night. We were foolish, immature things to even think for once that she wanted to be here in the first place.

"Mother, what was the real reason why you brought Mellia here?" These few days, trying to understand the story about Mellia has become difficult. Speaking about it is tiring. She raised her head but didn't answer. "Of all the children begging to have a warm home, girls and boys alike, why did you choose her? Of all the blonde girls, blue-eyed children, why did you pick her?" She turned to me with a concerned look on her face. I probably sound exhausted, this entire week was complete chaos. Father didn't care if I looked like this, he just wanted me to become the perfect tyrant heir to keep this kingdom intact. After a long thick silence, she let out a sigh.

"Mellia is someone I have to protect. Once you grow older, you'll find yourself. Why of all children, I had chosen her. You might not believe me, but she is a special child." Her voice seemed to soften at the end as if she was reminiscing a distant memory.

"She knew him." I didn't finish my sentence but I could see her shoulder's tense, her index finger slightly twitched. "The toymaker. Chen dug out one of his letter's it talked about a girl the same age as the twins. I wonder who that could be." The dry humor made mother chuckle with the same sense of bitterness.

"That child doesn't know how to keep a secret from you. Even so, I won't tell you anything until you grow older."

"Why? Because we're children? For the past few months, I don't feel like a child anymore. Mellia does things that feel like she could be ten years older than us. She knows things that we haven't