“Argh where are we going, Jinki?” Kibum grumbled as he sweeps off the dark specks that were caught on his wings in the process of him chasing after the elder in the darkness.

Being the master of this vast land, Jinki was able to maneuver his way past moving trees and creatures. However for Kibum, who could barely see where he was going, often crashed into branches that were deliberately placed in his path by the moving trees.  The specks of darkness that were present in the surroundings stained his white wings, though he knows that they were there to protect the creatures of the dark from the humans that lived in the villages nearby (More like protect the humans) they irritated him to no end as he cannot stand having dirt on his wings.

“Would you please stop that?! I’m trying to save lives here!” He yelled at the tree that refused to let him pass no matter how he tried. The tree froze in mid swing and its branches retracted. Kibum let out a small huff and sped on after Jinki.

Jinki’s mind raced as his eyes darted around to search for that familiar yet mysterious burrow into the ground. He spotted many burrows and holes in the soil but none of them were the one he was looking for. His leathery black wings allowed him to glide between trees and over tall bushes with a light flap. Just as he hears a loud yell from behind him, he sees it. That perfectly circular entrance lined with pebbles and a black rabbit sitting silently beside it.

Kibum caught up just in time to see Jinki stopping before the burrow.

“I’ve been waiting for you, old man.” A deep male voice reverberated in their ears. The rabbit’s red eyes staring straight into Jinki’s as it took a small hop forward.

“I believe so. I hope they have a good reason for doing this.” Jinki frowned.

“Oh believe me, this will be the best.” Yet again the voice sounded but the rabbit’s lips did not move. Is he a demon too? A rabbit?

“Let’s go.” Jinki disappeared down the burrow while Kibum took a last glance at the rabbit and flew in after him.

~ ~ ~

Changmin uncorked the bottle and tilted it gentle over the cauldron. A single drop fell into the clear fluid and its contents swirled. Images begin to form, images of Minho sitting in his classroom and staring out of the window; of Minho walking home from school; of Minho sitting in his room reading. They were all images of the life Minho had before he met Taemin.

“These are some of the memories that he lost. The first memories he had of you.” Chang min threw a handful of powder into the cauldron and the colours of the contents changed from black to red. New images begin to form, the first time they held hands in Minho’s room; the first time Taemin lulled Minho to sleep in his arms; and their first kiss. At the sight of their lips touching, Minho felt his face heat up and his heart race as Yunho chuckled beside him.

“That’s the one of his memories with you.” Chang min seemed unperturbed as he moved on with the spell. He picked up a flask from the side table and examined the contents before emptying all of it into the cauldron. The fluid in the cauldron hissed and stopped swirling, allowing Minho to see his face reflected on its now silvery surface. Just as he added another handful of strangely-shaped leaves, there was a small commotion outside the door.

“I’ll go and take a look.” Yunho gave Minho a light pat on his shoulder before gliding out of the room.

Minho looked at the cauldron and it has started to turn light yellow, almost like the colour of Taemin’s blood.

“Alright, now we need one last ingredient. May I have your hand please?” Chang min smiled at him confidently while Minho’s eyes widened in shock.

“My hand??” what does he mean have my hand?? He’s going to chop of my hand and throw it in there? That does not make sense at all.

“Oh.. Okay..” This is for Taemin.. Minho shut his eyes and his right hand forward.

“Oh I’m so sorry, not your entire hand, I just need a few drops of your blood, that’s all.” Chang min laughed as he gentle took Minho’s hand and made a small slit on his palm with a small dagger. He then turned Minho’s hand over the cauldron and allowed three drops to fall in before pulling his hand back. His hand slid over Minho’s as he withdrew it and watched the cauldron carefully.

 Minho turned over his hand to take a closer look at it but when he did so, it was gone. There was no mark or scar on his palm, as if nothing happened to it at all. As he was staring intently at his palm, white smoke was being emitted from the cauldron and began to fill the room.

Suddenly, Minho felt an unbearable sorrow in his chest. As if trapped in a space, wanting to get out but can’t. A strong longing for freedom and yearning for love. It stabbed at his chest and straight into his heart. The sudden feeling knocked the wind out of him and his knees weaken, causing him to fall onto the floor.

“Minho! Are you alright?” Chang min bent over, trying to help Minho up but only to be greeted with a painful groan.

“Is this what he feels? Trapped?” Minho choked as he took a deep breath, trying to hold in a scream of pain.

Chang min remained silent, refusing to agree to what Minho just stated. They both know this is what the beautiful and bright Guardian was forced to go through.

“What do I have to do next?” Minho pushed himself up, holding onto the side of the cauldron for support. Chang min took a small flask from the side table and filled it with the golden contents from the cauldron.

“You have to drink all of this in one go.” Minho nodded and took the flask. Just as he was about to drink it, the door burst open and dark aura filled the room.

“What do you think you are doing??” a quiet voice came from behind all the darkness. “Are you going to just throw yourself away after all that I did to keep you alive?” A dark figure stepped through the darkness, followed by a white one.

“Master Jinki.” Chang min bowed, greeting the owner of their land.

“He said this would save Taemin, I’m willing to try it even if it kills me.” Minho stood up tall, wincing slightly as pain shot through his chest.

“You can’t even stand up straight! Do you really think such stuff can save Taemin? Where did that come from? It may even be some poison disguised as remedy made by some evil witch from the past!”

This time, Chang min stepped forward to rebut, “I doubt so, Master Jinki. This came from the Library located in the Guardians’ castle. This was what caused all the mayhem a century ago.”

Jinki looked stunned; his anger slowly receded from his face as realization hit him.

“That book? The one they kept locked up.. But even if it really is that book, it breaks the first curse that I cast on him but he got hit by that merciless arrow shot by an ambitious Knight Guardian.” Jinki lowered his voice at the thought of being the one who casted to spell. He never thought he would fall so much deeper in love with the Guardian, despite knowing that the Guardian’s heart was with this mortal standing before him.

“Well, I’ve heard about that too so I made a little alterations to this potion here. Now we just need Minho to do the finishing job.” Chang min gave a little pat on Minho’s shoulder, as if giving him courage.

“Are you sure it will work? What if it kills him?” Jinki glares at the cauldron. Though the appearance looks very similar to the one he saw centuries ago when it was made to save a Guardian that met the same fate as Taemin, he was not entirely convinced yet.

“Jinki, I trust them. I believe they would not do something that would put Taemin or even me in harm. We don’t have time. Why have you come? What if the curse acts up again? Who’s there to protect Taemin?” Minho began to worry; he had a very bad feeling when the pain hit him. It felt as if Taemin was at his limit.

Jinki hesitated, looking extremely frustrated as he paced a little about the room. Kibum, who had been standing behind him all this time, took a step forward and took the flask from Minho’s hands.

“Hey-“ He held the flask close to his nose and took a whiff of its contents. When he opened his eyes, it was not the usual brown but a silvery grey. It was as if he saw something coming.

“It won’t kill him. However, I’m not so sure if it can save Taemin.” He then handed the flask back to Minho.

“How do you know that?” Minho stared at him in shock. What was that?

“Kibum can see the future when presented with something related to the situation..” Jinki said as Kibum gave him a small nod. “I guess we can only try our best.”

Chang min smiled and clapped his hands together. “Alright! Will everyone else get out, please? This is some nasty business.”

Jinki threw a last glance at Minho before exiting the room with a swish, followed by Kibum who gave him a small smile.

“You too, Yunho.” Yunho nodded before closing the door behind him.

“Now that we are finally alone, are you ready? It will be an extremely excruciating process.” Chang min turned Minho around to face him.

“Yes, I’m ready.” There really isn't any time to ask this again.

I am the worst! I really apologise for not updating >< My phone broke down (I used it to write most of my stories) and I couldn't find a way to put the idea I had in my head into proper descriptive words.. Thank you guys so much for being extremely patient and I would try my best to make up to it with the story! Okay so I guess they didn't progress much from the previous chapter with all that commotion. Frustrating right? I feel so too! I'll try to post up the next chapter as soon as I'm done with it and i hope you guys look forward to it! :D Do comment and subscribe!