Chapter 12.

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

“Oh dear, oh dear. We have quite a grave situation on our hands.”

The murmurs turned into incoherent mumbles though Hanbyul wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if she was dead.

Everything felt cold and painful—it felt like she was trapped in a nightmare where she was continuously drowning in the dark depths of the ocean. She would desperately swim up to the surface in those nightmares but to no avail and her arms would lose strength, leaving her to sink to the endless pits.

 She sorely wished she could open her eyes but her body wouldn’t obey. It felt like lead was weighing her body down. A small prod came to her side and pain coursed through her though she was too weak to even let out a painful protest.

A small gasp came from the voice and then—

“She is with child.”

Hanbyul felt her brain stop working and she struggled even harder with herself to try to open her eyes. To see who was standing above her saying such preposterous things.

“What should we do, Boa?”

Boa?

The name conjured up an image of the nice aunt in Dream village and confusion settled into Hanbyul’s mind. There was no way she would be here, wherever here was.

“We have to save her.” But the voice was unmistakable, Hanbyul thought with disbelief. “Yunho, give me my wand.”

With all the willpower she could muster, Hanbyul forced her eyes to flutter open, though the bright light made her shut them quickly.

Boa let out a sharp intake. “You’re awake.”

Hanbyul opened her eyes slowly once more and when she tried to talk, no words came out. burned and she felt like her entire body was sluggish, her heart beating slower than normal.

The look on Boa’s face was grim and her partner, the man she had called Yunho, looked at her with pity.

“Hanbyul,” Boa started slowly and Hanbyul slid her eyes to meet hers. There was no mistake now that she was the same woman that Hanbyul had known growing up in Dream. Boa cleared , “You’re dying.”

Dying?

It shouldn’t have surprised her. With the way her body felt, it was a surprise death hadn’t claimed her already.

“There’s too much water in your lungs and your temperature has dropped drastically from hypothermia. Your child will die if you do,” she said softly and Hanbyul felt her heart stop as Boa said that word again.

Child.

“I can save you but every action comes with a cost. Are you ready to pay the price, no matter how high?”

Unable to accumulate the energy to formulate a proper response, Hanbyul hoped Boa could read her mind, the resounding yes thundering in her head.

It seemed Boa understood though and she gave a grim frown before grabbing her wand from Yunho.

“Bibbidi bobbidi boo.”

Blue light encompassed Hanbyul and she felt her pain dissipating.

“Your memories of your loved ones will be gone, while the memories that remain will be the worst ones you wished you could erase,” Boa said, though her voice sounded faraway. “With your memories as the price, your life has been spared as has your child’s. Goodbye Hanbyul, I hope there is never a need to cross paths again.”

Hanbyul shut her eyes tight as blinding light burst through the sandy shore she laid on.

She blinked slowly when she regained consciousness and she stood from the ground on shaky legs.

Why was she alone, she wondered as she took a weak step away from the ocean water that enticed fear in her for some unknown reason.

“I swear I heard something from this direction!”

Hanbyul stopped in her tracks at the voice that seemed to be getting closer to her. And before she could have a chance to run, a boy burst out from the trees lining the shore and they both froze, eyeing each other warily.

The boy was tall, towering a good head over Hanbyul, and he had tanned skin that looked to be a result of him working outdoors. His muscles were lean and Hanbyul was certain she wouldn’t be able to outrun him nor outmatch him in a fight.

His voice was rough, almost accusing as he asked, “Who are you?”

The question made her pause and Hanbyul felt her mind go white.

“I-I…” she stammered, taking a small step back. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place with an intimidating man in front of her and the unforgiving ocean behind her. “I don’t know.”

The male stared at her strangely before taking in her attire. Her clothes were ripped and dirty, and her hair was disheveled and still matted wet from her plunge into the water.

“Where did you come from?” He asked then and Hanbyul bit her lip before shakily turning around to face the ocean.

“There,” she replied softly, lifting her finger towards the dark waves.

The boy looked confused but before he could ask her to any more questions, a flash of black ink on her lower back caught his attention.

0214.

Disgust filled his eyes, though Hanbyul didn’t seem to notice, and he clenched his fists so hard he felt like he was going to draw blood from the way his nails were digging into his skin.

She was a runaway. That much he could deduce but the brand made it clear exactly who she was running from.

“Have you ever had any interaction with the anti-Neo faction?” He posed the question cautiously but he wasn’t prepared for her reaction.

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