“What were you thinking?!”

  “Kai, I – “

  “You should not have done such a thing, Baekhyun!”

  Baekhyun hung his head low. He knew that his best friend would be angry at him, but he never expected him to be this… furious. “I couldn’t help it – “

  Kai whirled around, his cloak flying behind him. “You kissed Andrea, Baek. When you have an engagement upon yourself. And on the night of the festival that was meant to celebrate for you and Princess Celeste’s engagement. Do you see how serious this is?!”

  “I – “

  “Imagine how outraged your uncle would be if he finds out – “

  “He cannot find out!” Baekhyun shot up from his bed. “Kai, listen to me. I know I shouldn’t have kissed her, that I shouldn’t have taken her to the festival. And… and… it was just a moment of impulse. I couldn’t help it, Kai; I like her too much. But Uncle can never know about this. Please, promise me you will not tell him about this!”

  “Baek – “

   “It is my matter. And I will… solve it. I will tell Andrea the truth and… and bear the consequences myself. But you have to promise me you won’t tell the king.”

  Kai hesitated, but then sighed after seeing the sheer panic and fear in his best friend’s eyes. “Fine. But you have to stick to your words, Baek. I know you may not be able to control your feelings for her, but… you have to tell her the truth. She deserves it.”

  Baekhyun’s heart twisted. “I know. I will tell her… eventually.”

***

  (IF YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN TANGLED, IMAGINE HER ROOM AS RAPUNZEL'S, ONE WITH A SECOND FLOOR WITHIN)

  There was a click of the door.

  “Chan!”

  As soon as I recognized his ridiculous curly hair that had betrayed their straightness ever since he had turned 10, I jumped down the stairway, abandoned my process of painting on the walls, and rushed over to tackle him with a hug.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Chanyeol laughed in surprise and happiness. “Am I interrupting you, my most beloved little sister?”

  With my face still buried in his chest, I shook my head. “I was merely painting. Just like every day.”

  I didn’t mean to sound so bitter, but I could still hear the bitterness seep into my voice, and Chanyeol heard it, too.

  “Min Sae-ah…” His voice was full of pity and sadness. “I – “

  “It is alright, Chan.” I pulled away and smiled. “I understand Father’s doing. I understand that the world out there is so terrifying and dangerous that I have to stay in here, in my room hidden deep in the castle because no one outside knows my existence, for my own safety. I understand.” Peeking behind his back, I asked, “What is that?”

  After giving me a tight squeeze, Chanyeol pulled the object from behind his back, in his bag. He smiled wide, his eyes brightening. “I brought you a new book today.”

  “Chanyeol!” I squealed in delight. “You didn’t!”

  “Considering again, you’re right. This is just the records of when I wake up every morning.”

  “Then I insist more on reading it!”

  Chanyeol laughed as I jumped and grabbed the book from his hand high up in the air. “Mother and I found it in the Library, and she thought you might be interested in it.”

  “What is it about?” I started flipping through the pages. “Good gods,” I gasped, “there are drawings in here, too!”

  “It is actually a diary of a previous king. To be exact, a king from we guess, many centuries ago. It’s all about his beloved wife, who passed away of early age after giving birth to her thirteenth child.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “And you have bestowed it to me because…”

  Chanyeol shrugged. “I just had this feeling that you would like it. You are more able to feel the feelings between words than I. In that diary… it’s full of love. Beautiful, undying love.”

  Of course. My brother knew I love books, especially romantic ones; not to mention a diary! “Thank you, Chan.”

  “His wife’s name is Sabrina.”

  I plopped onto my bed. “That is a very beautiful and enchanting name.”

  Chanyeol nodded. “So I thought… you could consider… you know.”

  “No, I do not know.”

  He sighed. “Use it as your other Name.”

  I blinked. “Oh.”

  Royals were required to have two Names. One their true full name, like mine was Park Min Sae, and another of one you could pick for yourself. I didn’t know the purpose for needing two Names, but I guessed… we just had to. Chanyeol didn’t know the answer, too, and he also hasn’t found one for himself yet, despite Father’s urgent demanding.

  “I… like Sabrina.”

  No, I loved it.

  “Good.” Chanyeol smiled. "I will tell Father to put it on the Heritage Tree.” After giving me one last hug and a kiss on the crown of my head, he said, “I have to go now; I promised the boys to go fishing with them today.”

  The boys: his friends. Baekhyun, Sehun, Jongin, Kyungsoo and Joonmyun. Giddiness bubbled inside of me, but I tried my best to not let it show. “Stay cautious; your powers are still unstable.”

  “I'm aware. See you later, Min Sae. Sabrina,” he added with a goofy grin. I laughed.

  “See you later, Chan.”

  After he closed the door shut, I waited for one full minute until I dashed as fast as I could up the staircase. I reached the part hidden behind countless canvases, where in the white wall, there was a crack. The sunlight pouring in made me squint, but after a few seconds I could see the outside clearly, and I could see my brother walking out of the castle gate –

  And to my delight, there he was.

  His light brown hair caught the sunlight in a way that made him shine, along with his glittering eyes a rich color of brown. He smiled that same smile that had captured my heart ever since I had started sneaking peeks at him, and the way he embraced Chanyeol with a brotherly hug before catching up with the other boys…

  He was the main reason I couldn’t wait to be free of this locked room and finally reveal myself to him, when I turn 18.

  “You told me Min Sae was missing.”

  “I recall my words as ‘She’s gone,’ Sehun.”

  “And that is supposed to refer to ‘She’s dead,’ Gillian! Or missing! All these years, and we all believed that you had rescued her from the Fire, but then lost her in the Woods to the Pack! We all thought that she had been eaten up by those wolves – “

  “Or managed to escape, but in the end still died somewhere in the Woods, because a ten-year-old child whom we didn’t even know existence of until the Fire happened couldn’t live on her own in those woods.”

  “I knew her existence, Hazel.”

  “That is because Chanyeol told you, Sehun.”

  “Hazel, my love, and Sehun, I am sorry for having hiding this from you for years. But for Min Sae’s safety, Rick and I decided to give her a new name – “

  Andrea stirred. She tried to move in her sleeping position, but then cried out at the pain under her left collarbone.

  “Andrea!”

  Her eyes flickered open. “Sehun…?”

  Sehun looked relieved. “Hey.”

  “What…”

  “You… well, you sort of passed out after the spell undid itself.” He gently smiled. “Your mark burned the skin that was hiding it, in the term of words, and… I guess it was painful.”

  Andrea groaned. “Try putting your hand in a burning fire.”

  “And for that, Andrea, I am terribly sorry.” Gillian walked toward the bed she was resting on, and she realized they were in a different room than Chanyeol’s.

  Chanyeol.

  Small bits of memories had been flashing through her head ever since she had regained consciousness. It wasn’t much, but she could clearly see the image of a young boy with the same identical light-brown curls and a goofy grin: the younger version of Chanyeol.

  Park Chanyeol, her brother.

  She was the prince’s sister. A princess.

  The princess of The Southern Commonwealth.

  Well, once, actually, before her real father, Park Chan Young, had been murdered by Baekhyun’s uncle. Before her whole family died in a terrible fire set by Baekhyun’s evil uncle.

  “But that was the only way to uncover your mark.”

  “So it’s… true?” Andrea asked, looking at Gillian, half her memories still on their way back to her. “That I’m… I’m actually a… princess and Stargazer, and… and Rick isn’t my real father, my real father had been murdered, and… and you’ve known? All along, about my true identity? And you never bothered telling me? Rick… he lied to me?”

  “Andrea – “

  “He lied to me for three years!” Furiously, Andrea tried to get up from the bed but Sehun held her back. “He knew but he never told me – “

  Gillian looked saddened, at the mere mention of Rick. “He did it for your safety, Andrea.”

  “Really? By telling you to lock up my memories and lying about being my father? A random stranger - ”

  “Rick is your family,” Hazel cut her off.

  “What?” Sehun and Andrea cried out at the same time. “But Hazel,” Sehun exclaimed, “he – “

  “Had only one sister, yes.” She nodded. “And his sister was Queen Han Jae Yuan."

  “My mother,” Andrea whispered. “Rick is… that means Rick is my uncle.”

  Lucas wasn’t lying when he said Rick has the same blood as I.

  Does that mean Lucas… knew? About Rick?

  “But Rick’s last name isn’t ‘Han’,” Sehun stated. “Unless… he took that last name for disguise?”

  “Precisely.” Gillian walked to the end of the room, looking tired but alive at the same time. He sat down in a chair. “Seven years ago, I could feel a change in Kang Dae. At that time I was your father’s second advisor to Byun Soo Jun, and Kang Dae third. Although our positions were higher than Kang Dae's, he often quarreled with our opinions and I could feel, within him, that he was furious at how we never listened to him. I did not pay much attention though, only until when one day, on court, he seemed… different. A new, strong but dark feeling loomed over him, and I didn’t realize what it was until the Fire, until I dashed to save everyone from the burning fire that just wouldn’t die down, no matter how hard I willed it to.

  “It turned out to be dark magic. He had somehow gotten his hands on dark magic, although I do not have evidence – and I still do not have – but am entirely sure. There is no mistaking the darkness around him, the darkness normal villagers are not able to see.

  “The fire seven years ago wasn’t a natural fire; it was given rise to by dark magic. It is why, when I tucked an unconscious you under my cloak and managed to pull Chanyeol out of the big boulder pressing on him, I couldn’t will the fire to distinguish. It is why Joonmyun’s water had no use, and why it didn’t stop until the whole castle had been burnt to ashes.

  “After escaping out of the castle, I ran to the Woods, with the two of you. You must understand, I wanted to run back and save your mother and father, too, but… your father once told me, Min Sae, that if one day there would be the need of escaping, you and your brother were first priority. Despite the urge, I had to take you two to safety first. Kang Dae swore that he would spare no mercy until every single living royal Stargazer had died, and he knew of your existence. He stole the list we put the names of royals upon, what we call the ‘Heritage Tree,’ and saw both of your Names. So the only way, was to run as far away with the two of you as I could.

  “But when in the Woods, when I almost reached the River to this village once deserted, I was attacked by the Pack. The Pack are, of literal meaning, a pack of werewolves. That night was the full moon, unfortunately, so the Pack was in their most beastly, inhuman form, and their animal instincts were the highest. They attacked. I was starting to have difficulty protecting you two, but then Rick appeared.

  “At that time, only a few knew Rick being Jae Yuan’s older brother. They have the same father, but different mothers: Rick’s mother was a werewolf while Jae Yuan’s human. Yes, Sehun, Rick was a half-blood: half Stargazer, half werewolf. He scared off the Pack without the need to Turn, and that’s when I realized something.

  “Danger would come every living second you and Chanyeol are together, Min Sae. Royal-bloods give off pulses of strong force and have a special scent only recognizable by those who are not normal human, and it strengthens when there is more than one at a same place. I decided to you leave you to Rick. Together, we put a spell on you to hide your mark – a spell a Stargazer can only do once in his lifetime – and I asked Rick to take care of you. It was actually his idea, to disguise you as his own daughter and hide you in his cottage faraway from the village. Your royal-blood scent would only be deemed as a lingering pulse from the Woods, which became ‘forbidden’ after Kang Dae threatened to kill every Stargazer if they didn’t leave The Southern Commonwealth. The Woods, since then, is a border between the world outside and the realm ruled solely by Byun Kang Dae.”

  “But that was seven years ago.” Andrea did the counting in her head. “I have memories of nothing until three years ago…” something clicked in her head. “I was in the same state like Chanyeol, too, for four years?!”

  “Yes. You inhaled too much smoke and didn’t have enough air in your locked room… it was a miracle for you to have woken up. After you regained consciousness, Rick and I were very shocked, but we didn’t want you to suffer all the pain of loss and despair, so I put a lock on your memories.”

  “But I’m seeing bits and bits now. And you pulled the spell off my mark, so you have to unlock – “

  “Forgive me, Min Sae, but everything has to be done on your own.” Gillian looked sorry. “You have to find the triggers to unlock the rest of your memories yourself.”

  A bubble of frustration grew inside of Andrea. “If that is so, why did you even bother to see me and help my mark reaapear?”

  “Because you found this place by yourself.” Gillian glanced at Sehun, then back at Andrea. “So I realized it must be the time for you to know. There was no use erasing your memory or Sehun’s or even the kids’; too many people have seen you. Rick wanted to spare you from all the cruelty and truth, to just live a peaceful life; but it’s too late. He’s gone now, and…” Suddenly, Gillian’s face darkened. “Something is happening in the castle. I cannot put my finger to it, but we all feel – “

  “That a storm is coming.” Hazel finished for her husband. “A big storm is yet to come.”

***

  She could recognize that voice anywhere.

  The problem was, the voice wasn’t there, right beside her. It was coming from where her cottage was, from hundreds of miles away from Sehun’s room in the Stargazer village.

  Was this one of her abilities, the abilities that seemed to be appearing after the reappearance of her mark?

  “Andrea?”

  “Min Sae?”

  Andrea spun around.

  “Is everything alright?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Yes… just, Gillian? I’m not… I’m still trying to let everything… sink in. Could you please still call me Andrea?”

  “Oh. If you insist.”

  Sehun –

  Please. I’m still sticking to what I always call you, girly.

  Good. At least it’s better than something like ‘Your Royal Girly.’

  Sehun laughed out loud, but then stifled it down.

  “And… um,” Andrea continued. “I want to… go home.”

  “Of course. You need some rest.”

  “Why don’t you just rest here?” Sehun asked. “We have a guest room – “

  “No.” She replied a little too quickly. “I-I mean, thank you, Sehun, but… I just want to feel normal for at least one more night.”

**

  “Baek?”

  Andrea tried to stay composed. Gillian, Hazel, and Sehun seemed to notice nothing, not even the hidden urgency in her footsteps when she walked through the Woods with Sehun.

  After knowing her true identity, Sehun’s attitude towards Andrea didn’t change much; he was still emotionless and witty, but he became more… brotherly and protective. She knew that he kept staring at her back when she stepped out of the Woods and to her cottage. Only until she heard him turn back with her sudden heightened hearing, did she run, as fast as she could.

  Because Baekhyun was waiting at her front porch, and had been for a good few minutes.

  Worry tinged his eyes, but as soon as he saw her walking toward him (she hid the bow and arrows in the backyard), he looked relieved and broke into a smile.

  “Andrea!”

  That smile, that voice, how delighted he seemed to see her, all brought back the memory of their kiss last night. It made Andrea feel suffocated but the world became more clearer at the same time, crystalizing one particular thing, one particular thought that shone when his face was in her sight.

  She loved him.

  Andrea had loved Baekhyun, ever since years ago when she peeked at him through cracks of the wall in her room.

  Before she knew it, Baekhyun pulled her into his arms, his posture rigid and relaxed at the same time. “I thought something had happened to you! It’s so late and…”

  Extremely touched, Andrea wrapped her arms around his waist, to which he responded by hugging her tighter. “Forgive me, I was just… I thought I saw a movement in the Woods…”

  Baekhyun pulled away to look at her. “You didn’t go in, did you?”

  She gulped, not able to lie straight to his face, but he took her silence as a ‘No.’ “Good.” He hugged her again. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  Then you would be devastated if I tell you I actually do, every day. Andrea blinked back tears. Along with the hundred other things I have started remembering.

  “Baek,” Andrea whispered into his chest, “It’s so late, why – “

  “My uncle has gone out.”

  “Gone out?”

  Baekhyun nodded. “He has some business to attend to outside the realm, in Great China. So he won’t be here tonight.” His warm breath tickled her ear. “And because I am free, I was thinking… if I could spend the night with you?”

**

  Twenty minutes later, Andrea still couldn’t get rid of the feverish heat in her cheeks.

  She had let Baekhyun in. Of course she would; it would be considered rude to reject the prince’s offer.

  But as she stepped into her bedroom after her wash, in her nightgown, and saw Baekhyun smiling at her on her bed out if his cloak and boots, looking like a puppy waiting eagerly for its master, everything changed. Tonight, he wasn’t the prince, and Andrea wasn’t a plain villager who turned out to be the princess people thought dead. Tonight, they were just a teenage boy and girl, who both undeniably felt the same towards each other.

  Baekhyun was already lying on his side on her bed, and patted the space beside him. Andrea blushed even more. “I-I’ll just sleep on the floor…”

  “No.” He pouted. “I want to sleep in bed with you tonight, Andrea.”

  “B-but – “

  “Don’t make me order you.”

  After tugging her hair out of nervousness, Andrea obliged and awkwardly lay down beside him. Almost immediately, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around her and snuggled her close, her head under his chin, her nose poking at his chest. The warmth diminished the awkwardness, and Andrea felt herself begin to relax bit by bit.

  “Andrea.”

  She tensed up at how deep and husky his voice had become. Looking up under her eyelashes, her tongue felt tangled under his intense stare. “B-Baek?”

  She swore she saw his gaze drop down to her lips, then back to her violet irises. He smiled a genuine, happy smile. “Thank you for letting me in.”

  “It – “

  “I love you, Andrea.”

  Andrea froze at Baekhyun’s words, but he didn’t stop.

  “I want you to know that I love you.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Before I don’t have the chance.”

  A cold shiver ran through her. “What do you mean?”

  For less than a second, something like sorrow flashed in his eyes. “Nothing. Just… saying.”

  “Baek – “

  He stopped her with a gentle kiss on the lips. “The days from now on will be… changing, Andrea. Life-changing and…” She doesn’t know about my engagement yet, “shocking. So before you judge anything or jump to any conclusions, I want you to understand… that it’s you. It’s you I love, you that I want to be with. I know it's crazy we've just met, but...”

  She tried to scramble up, but Baekhyun held her back. “Baek, what are you saying?” Does he know who I really am? Is he going to leave me? But before she could ask, another thought popped into her mind.

  Why be so serious now, so late in the evening? Why not enjoy the warmth of him tonight, and tell him my true identity tomorrow morning?

  “Forgive me, Andrea, I’m just… saying.” Why tell her now, when I could still hold her in my arms? If she is to hate me after she finds out, at least… at least let me be selfish for this one time. Let me hold her for one more night. “It must be because I am too excited to tell you how I feel. And I want to know…”

  Andrea saw it in his eyes. The question she had been asking herself ever since their first kiss on his balcony. And now, in his arms, feeling so warm and secure, and looking into his warm, brown eyes, she could hear the answer pounding in her heart, loud and clear.

  “Yes, Baek.” Blushing, she scooted closer to him. "Yes," she repeated.

  Shock and pain flickered across his face, but they vanished so quick that Andrea thought she had imagined it, because the next second, Baekhyun was kissing her, not too forceful, but not too gentle, either.

  It was a kiss full of love, admiration, and hints of desire and want. It made Andrea melt under Baekhyun’s touch, raking her hands in his soft hair and lavishing his on her waist, her back, the back of her neck…

  Tomorrow. I will tell him, tomorrow.

[A/N] Wow. This was a long chapter LOL OTL. I just couldn't bring myself to split it into half coz... you know... THIS CHAP WAS SO PULSE-PUMPING. Well, to me. Becoz of the Baek-Andrea interactions kwenfwgbvnowignowlgjnw3oifj23otghi3 SPAZZ WITH ME GUYS OMG SPAZZ WITH ME. Wait, was it too fast-paced?

Thank you all for commenting though YOU ALL ARE THE BEST <3<3<3 FEEL FREE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE STORY PLOT SO FAR /THROWS HEARTS/