“Girly! Girly –Andrea!”

  She lifted her head up too late. The big piece of ceiling was already falling towards Andrea, and she didn’t even have the strength to move. Suddenly, she felt herself pushed to the side, with a limp Baekhyun still in her arms, and she was just in time to see Sehun, crouching at the place she had just been, holding his hands up to protect himself –

  Then the huge chunk of rock flew away, as if pushed back by a force.

  “Sehuna!” Luhan ran to him after dropping his hand. “Are you hurt?!”

  “I’m fine; thanks, Luhan.” Sehun gave him a quick hug before rushing to Andrea’s side. ”Girly –“

  “I’m so sorry, Sehun,” she sobbed, her cheeks streaming with new tears. “I didn’t see and you rescued me and –“

  She was interrupted by the noise of cracking, indicating that the palace ceiling – no, the whole palace was starting to crumble.

  “We need to get out of here now,” Sehun said, his eyes full of panic. He pulled Andrea to her feet.

  “But what about Baekhyun?” She asked. “I won’t just leave him here!”

  “An –“

  “I will not leave him here!”

  “I know!” Sehun shouted back. He lifted his head, and saw the person he was looking for running toward them. “Jongin!”

  Kai approached in a flash. “Andrea, you need to get out now, the palace is about to fall apart –“

  “Jongin.” Sehun grabbed his shoulder. “I’ll take her; you take Baekhyun. Teleport him, Rick, Owl, Hazel and all the other injured ones out first and get Yixing to heal them.”

  “Is Baek–“

  “No.” Andrea’s voice was sharp, with a hint of pain. “Don’t you even say that word, Kai. I will not allow it. Get him out of here, please, and don’t wait for me; I’ll get myself out.”

  The muscle in Kai’s jaw tensed slightly, his eyes boring right into Andrea’s. Then, in a quick move, he pulled her in his embrace, his hug quick but firm. “Promise me you’ll get out alive,” he whispered into her ear. “Promise me, or I will never, ever forgive you.”

  She swallowed hard. “I promise you, Kai.” The last word was muffled by another rumble, along with a violent shake. Andrea gave him a quick squeeze before letting him go. “Now go! And take Luke with you!”

**

  “Sehun, you could just go –“

  “No.” Sehun shook his head. “I’m not letting you do this on your own. Ensuring that every living person is out before you get out? This is very brave and responsible of you, girly, but don’t even think about doing it alone.”

  Another loud shake vibrated around them, and a large piece of the palace that could kill a cow fell down inches beside Sehun.

  “I think that means it’s our time to go now.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Do you think we should check one more time? If everyone is out?

  Sehun was already dragging Andrea. “We’ve checked enough already; we need to get out now before we get buried alive!”

  Then they ran. They ran to the door everyone escaped out from, but to their horror, it was blocked by a pile of fallen rocks.

  Sehun cursed. “We’ve been hanging around for too long – is there another way? Another hole?” He spun around, his wild eyes scanning the falling palace, white dust and pebbles falling around him like rain. “Is there another exit –“

  “This was the only one,” Andrea replied, her arms dropping lifelessly to her sides, her voice low. “It was our only exit of escape. And now it’s… gone. I’m so sorry, Sehun.”

  She felt like falling to her knees, despair suffocating her. She was trapped in a palace that was about to collapse any minute, and so was Sehun, whom she had dragged in. It was her fault. Sehun and she were about to be buried alive, and it was all her fault. Alongside the feeling of absolute sorry for Sehun, for the boy who risked his life to stay by her and was about to lose it, she could only think of one name.

  Baekhyun.

  I’m sorry, Baek. I’m sorry you’ll have to live without me in the future. I love you –

  A bang on the other side of the pile of rocks caught both Andrea and Sehun’s attention. It was faint at first, making Andrea assume it was the sound of another rock falling, another piece of the palace crumbling.

  But the banging continued, each bang growing louder and louder until Andrea picked up another noise, a noise that somehow sounded like…

  Like sizzling fire.

  With a sudden huge explosion the pile of rocks before them was blasted into tiny pieces and dust, leaving a hole, and when the grey-white dust-fog finally faded away, the silhouette before them merged into a person. A flame of fire was dancing on the palm of his right hand, and his eyes were ablaze – fire was literally flaming in his eyes – but the wilderness in them vanished as soon as he laid his eyes on Andrea.

  The ball of fire in his hand distinguished with a sharp ‘swish,’ his gaze never straying from hers. “Min…?” he started, his tone full of uncertainty. “Min Sae - ?”

  “CHANYEOL!”

  After Sehun and Andrea jumped out through the hole and escaped out of the castle - which collapsed a mere few seconds later - Andrea practically flew into the arms of  the boy, hugging him by the waist tightly because he had grown so tall.

  He’d practically spent all his energy waking up on growing!

  “You woke up!” Releasing him a little, Andrea studied her brother’s face. His curly hair, a shade between brown and gold, fell over his eyes a bit, his beautiful eyes as brown as the rich soil in the Stargazer village. A sudden overwhelming feeling of crying washed over her. "It's a miracle."

  “Min…Sae?”Chanyeol’s hands hovered behind Andrea’s back. “Are you –“

  “It’s me, Chan. It really is me. And you just saved me.”

  “How –“ he pulled her in for a very, very tight hug. “The last thing I remembered was fire! And… and when I woke up in a strange place, just in time to see a really handsome guy who had tan skin like a grown-up Jongin shriek like a girl and tell me he was Jongin and my little sister was alive but still at the palace I just ran straight to here because I could sense something wrong and I could feel you inside this tumbling palace I’ve never seen before and –“

  Andrea burst out laughing. “Don't forget to pause to take a deep breath, Chan!” She laughed even harder when he did, and it sounded like he was a fish gasping for water. “You saved us. You don’t understand what’s happening, but you still came to our rescue.”

  Chanyeol rested his chin on her head. “Of course I would; you’re my precious beautiful sister. Or, actually, more beautiful sister.” He studied Andrea’s face again, all the doubt vanishing when his gaze landed on her violet eyes. “You’ve grown so much.”

  The unmistakable pride in his voice surged up a new feeling in her, a feeling she hadn’t felt for so many years. “People can change a lot in 7 years, Chan.”

  “7 years? I’ve been asleep for 7 years?!”

  “8, to be exact. Welcome back, Yeol.”

  Chanyeol lifted his gaze to the owner of the third voice, stiffening slightly at the sight of the boy behind Andrea. The two boys stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and Sehun could feel tears threatening the sides of his eyes. But he willed them not to fall with all his might.

  “’Yeol’,” Chanyeol finally said after a moment. “Only one stubborn little kid calls me by that name.”

  Andrea slipped out of her brother’s arms. “Well, the stubborn part hasn’t changed.”

  “Girly – “ Sehun was in the middle of rolling his eyes when Chanyeol’s two long strides swallowed up the space between them and his long arms pulled him in for a hug.

  “Sehun! Bless my soul, I can’t believe…  you’ve grown so tall, little brother.”

  To Andrea, it felt a little awkward, but she knew that between boys, their friendship meant more in hugs and fist-bumping instead of words. Sehun’s voice was strained when he spoke again. “Yeol – “

  “Are you crying?” Andrea snickered. “Good gods, Oh Sehun is actually crying!”

  “Why don’t you go find some hay to stuff your head in – “

  “Hey, hey, what is of this cruelty to my little sister?” Chanyeol smacked Sehun’s shoulder playfully. “That is no way to treat a lady – “

  “Believe me, Yeol, she fits nowhere in the class of ‘ladies.’”

  “Excuse you?! Oh Sehun, don’t think just because you saved my life for a few times means you are a gentleman – “

  “I never said that, but I do appreciate the flattery.”

  “You – “

  A laughter like deep, merry bells coming from the curly-haired boy beside Andrea and Sehun cut off their bickering. “The two of you look quite cute a couple!” He ruffled Sehun’s hair. “I do admire your choice of women, Sehun, but sis… are you sure – “

  “Good gods, no.” A strange heat flushed Andrea’s cheeks. “I – “

  It was always like this. No matter when , no matter what. Whenever his face that had been hiding behind other stuff in Andrea's mind stepped into the light again, it was as if the world around her would simply slip away. Everything else would turn blurry, and all she could think about was him. And right now, something else came along with the image of his slumped figure, bloody chest, and pale, cold fingers. It was a feeling as cold as ice, wrapping around her heart – no, she could feel it now, stronger as ever, but frighteningly thinning.

  The string between her and her true love’s heart.

  She shouldn’t be standing there, smiling with her brother and friend as if everything had ended.

  “Baekhyun.” Terror colored her voice, along with the color draining from her face. Sehun’s face turned pale, too. “Baek – “

  “Baekkie?” Chanyeol asked, unaware. “He’s here - ?”

  Andrea didn’t stay to let her brother finish his sentence. Instead, quicker than she had ever been before, she spun on her heels and started running.

  The footsteps of the other two and sounds of Sehun explaining to a confused Chanyeol behind her, couldn’t wash out the pure fear that attacked her when she felt the string tightening and thinning… threatening to snap…

***

  White was the color that Baekhyun thought he could never understand.

  Some people told him it was the combination of all colors; others told him it was the color of nothing. It was such a difficulty to see white light in everyday life, whereas black could be seen everywhere, in every corner. Some said white symbolized emptiness; some said purity.

  But when he himself was holding a ball of pure white light in his hands, in the palace he had called home for seven years, he understood what it really meant.

  It symbolized completeness. It was both the mixture of all colors and none at all. It made him feel powerful and vulnerable at the same time, as if he were devoting himself to this world he loved, to protecting the world the girl he loved lived in.

  And it was the mere thought of her name and feel of absolute love for her that brought Baekhyun out of the empty, full-of-white-light place he was floating in and back to consciousness.

**

  “I don’t understand. Kang Dae couldn’t have left his Dark Book unguarded – “

  “I am afraid it was very highly guarded, Min Sae. Guarded by powerful magic indeed.”

  “But how did you still manage to get it?”

  “The same as how he never found out I was a Stargazer.”

  “In other words, you’re stronger than him.”

  “You think too highly of me, my princess – “

  “You’re stronger than him, Gillian! You… you defeated him.”

  “No, my dear princess, you defeated him. You destroyed his Book with your arrow covered in the most powerful magic of all – true love’s blood. You saved us all.”

  “But – “

  “How about ‘we’ all saved everyone? Would that make you two stop arguing around?”

  “It’s not like we’re receiving some title, Sehun.”

  “No, it’s more like you’re throwing a hot potato back and forth, girly.”

  “I would not call the honor of saving an entire race ‘a hot potato,’ Sehun.”

  Baekhyun smiled. He didn’t know his muscles really listened to him until he heard Andrea’s sharp cry.

  “He just smiled!” A heavy weight appeared on the bed he was lying on. He was sure he was somewhere he had never been before, but the whole place smelled so welcoming and lovely, a mixture of vanilla, wood, sunlight, and her. “Sehun, Gillian, Baek just smiled – “

  “So? I can smile, too.”

  “Ew, no, your smiles are weird.”

  “Pardon me – “

  Before the weight on the bed lifted, Baekhyun’s right hand shot out and grabbed Andrea’s wrist. She let out a strangled cry of shock at first, but when he opened his eyes, he knew he was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

  Her hair was pulled up, showing the faint scars on her neck. Her pink lips were slightly formed in a little ‘o’, and her eyes…

  Oh, her eyes. Baekhyun could lose himself in those violet heavens forever.

  Concern swam in her violet eyes, but behind the concern, he saw the emotion he had seen for so many times before, the emotion that pleasantly warmed his whole body up in an instant.

  Everlasting love.

  He opened his mouth, gaze never leaving hers, and slipped his hand down, intertwining their fingers. “Hey.”

  Maybe it was because he was so thirsty, or maybe it was because his throat felt as dry as a paper and his tongue felt so heavy; either way, his ‘hey’ came out like a croak. Andrea blinked, then started laughing.

  “For a moment there I thought you had turned into a toad!” She laughed, until her laughter turned into tears, and suddenly she was crying so hard, trembling so violently. “You woke up,” she said between hiccups. “I came back only to find you on the line between life and death and finally, when Yixing said he could no longer help you because he thought you couldn’t be saved, when I kissed you...

  “Do you know how it felt, to finally hear your steady heartbeat again, faint but louder than before when you were almost dying? You just wouldn’t gain consciousness…” Andrea threw her arms around Baekhyun. “You’re alive and awake, thank the gods, you’re alive…”

  Baekhyun let out a small whimper at the pain of his back – probably due to not moving it for a long time – but threw his arms around her and hugged her back, tightly. Flashbacks of the chaotic war in the palace came rushing to him, and the fact that –

  “We won. I… we… good gods, Andrea, Gillian, you killed him, and... and came out alive.”

  She nodded fiercely, still not letting him go. “We won, Baek.” She sniffled. “Luke is alive, Owl is alive, Hazel and Rick are alive, and you… I would never have the strength to keep living if you died…” her voice broke again on the last word.

  “Andrea…”

  “I was so worried and anxious… waiting and hoping you would wake up – “

  “But I did.” Baekhyun gently held her face in his hands. “I woke up, for you. I would never leave you, not now, not ever.”

  She leaned in his left palm. “Just… promise me, alright? Promise me you’ll never put yourself in danger again.” One last tear dropped from her eye, and he caught it with his finger. “I love you so much, Baek.”

  Baekhyun pulled Andrea toward him, his hand on the back of her neck. He’d almost forgotten the miraculous feeling of kissing her – but no worries, because the kiss this time blossomed like a new-born flower, their lips meddling together perfectly, and turned into a fire-hot explosion that could’ve gone further  if Sehun hadn’t slammed the room door shut.

  Baekhyun her cheek tenderly. “I love you, too, Andrea. With all my life.”

  She smiled, her cheeks pink and eyes twinkling. “Baek – “

  “How about we keep doing what was interrupted by the door?” He nuzzled her nose with his. “I am feeling so energized at this moment, and we are alone.”

  A giggle escaped from Andrea’s lips, and she hid her face in his chest in embarrassment. “How un-princely you are acting, Baek.”

  “Hey – “

  “If you’re feeling so energized,” she stood up from the bed, ignoring Baekhyun’s small tugs. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  “The only surprise I want is you and me.” But the smile on his face betrayed the fake unhappiness in his voice. “Alright, alright; what surprise?”

  Andrea smiled a matching smile, pulling Baekhyun onto his feet. “There’s someone I know you’ll want to meet. After all, you’ve been lying in the bed he had lay on for seven years.”

 [A/N] Okay, guess what. NEXT IS THE EPILOGUEEEEEEEE which I dunno when I can post coz I’ve been busy moving to a new house and preparing for my college entry test which is in 32 days omg but we’ll see. MUAHAHA. /SMOOTHES IMAGINARY MUSTACHE/

SO… everything else, no matter big or small, will be dealt with in the epilogue! Like what happens to Princess Celeste, who will take the throne, a wedding will take place (shhh don’t tell the others I told you this haha), and –

Oops. Do you hear that? Yes, it’s the YOU-HAVE-TO-STOP-GIVING-SPOILERS bell ringing.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS ‘REUNION&YOU-WOKE-UP!’ CHAP <33333333 Pls I am so not done with Baekdrea moments here. Wait for it……