The crunch of leaves echoed throughout the whole Woods. Andrea thought it was  hers and grimaced at her lack of carefulness today, but then her thoughts pulled her back into her own world again.

  It was too much to take in. Too much that Andrea had found trouble breathing when her brain was still trying to absorb everything Baekhyun and Kai had told her.

  “It was said that my father had found out about the Park family having special abilities,” Baekhyun explained. “He and my uncle, who is one year younger than my father, confronted Yeol’s father, and then he went all bizarre and…” Looking to the side and gulping hard, Baekhyun closed his eyes. “My uncle barely escaped, while my father wasn’t fortunate enough. The sword aimed right for his heart. Hours later, my uncle led thousands of protesters and brought King Park Chan Young down. ‘This realm shall not be ruled by magic’ he had said to the villagers who helped him. ‘We have been manipulated by their bewitchment for centuries, and now after murdering his visor and best friend and disrupting the balance that had been held ever since our ancestors claimed this land, the Parks shall be taken down from the throne!’”

  Andrea could feel the unbelief and bewilderment of the people after learning the king they respected so much had killed his best friend. “So…” she asked carefully, “did your uncle – “

  “No.” Baekhyun shook his head. “When my uncle was on his way to bring the king out and practice justice – to hang him in front of everyone – a villager set fire on the castle on purpose. The fire spread so quickly that the king, along with his wife, his son,” his voice cracked a little at the mention of his best friend, “and about a hundred more royalties and servants were killed in the fire. No one… no one of the Park family survived.”

  “After that, Baek’s uncle took the throne rightfully.” Kai fidgeted with his shirt, as if in deep thought. “And now… here we are.”

  So Baekhyun’s father had been murdered. He had been betrayed by his best friend. Baekhyun and Kai’s friend, Park Chanyeol, died in a fire that took his whole family down.

  Andrea could feel her head, her brain, protesting for rest. No wonder Rick never preferred telling her; there was such a tremendous dark story underneath a fire that looked like merely an accident to the villagers.

  “The people do not know much, Andrea. A lot of them - who either weren't a part of the protestors or were too young to comprehend -  don’t know about the secret of the Parks; they just think that there was a terrible fire where the previous king and my father died in it while trying to save the people in the castle. They think Stargazers are just cruel, infant-eating magic-beholders that had been threatening the realm and were finally banished by my uncle because my father wasn’t stone-hearted enough to use force on anyone, not even ‘witches,’ another name for the Stargazers.”

  The emotion pouring out of Baekhyun's voice had made Andrea want to run over and give him a tight hug, but something nagging in her head stopped her from doing so, a thought so strong it scared her.

  Somehow, Andrea felt that there was more to the fire. There was more to Baekhyun’s uncle, to be exact. Maybe Baekhyun just wasn’t telling her or maybe he himself didn’t know, but Andrea had a strangely strong feeling that his uncle was hiding something.

  Mostly because she didn’t see the point why the Woods should be forbidden.

  Was it because there was actually something hidden in here, in the Forbidden Woods, that the king knows but no one else does? Was it because there was actually more to those trees that seemed to stretch until the end of this world, and the king was preventing anyone knowing about it by forbidding everyone in?

  You’re getting there.

  Andrea stopped dead in her tracks. The dirt underneath her wasn’t brown anymore; it was wine-red with dots of – was that gold?! And it shined in the faint light of dawn. The trees trunks around her weren’t white; they were brown, brown in the way that meant they were rich in nutrients, rich in life. But it wasn't the surroundings that made her stop.

  It was the voice in her head.

  You’re almost getting to the truth, girly.

  Sehun? What are you doing?

  Or, to Andrea’s terror, voices.

  She had never gone this deep into the Forbidden Woods before. Rick never led her here; she never asked to. Animals always appeared within a few miles of the border, so Andrea never spared more than a minute to the thought of adventuring deeper. She once caught Rick staring at the direction of the inside, the further inside of the Woods, with an expression full of caution but also a hint of… longing, but she never asked. She thought she would never need to.

  But now, while she was immersed in her thoughts, her feet unconsciously brought her deeper into the Woods, much deeper than she had ever been to. Maybe it was the fear and strangeness that was making her mad and having illusions. Maybe it was just her brain making up voices and playing tricks on her –

  Notice that girl, Tao.

  She’s not supposed to be here. No one’s supposed to be here, not to mention a girl –

  I think she’s more to that.

  What do you mean?

  Tap into her thoughts, Tao.

  A moment of silence passed.

  … She knows?

  No, I don’t think so. But I think she’s getting to the truth.

  She is indeed clever. But why is she standing there doing nothing?

  All of a sudden, Andrea took in a quick, startled breath and spun around. She looked to her left, then her right, but… nothing. No one was near her, no human being was in her sight. All that was accompanying her was the smell of nature and the wind – the wind that suddenly stopped blowing.

  Tao, call for Luhan.

  Really, Sehun? You just can’t stand not seeing him for more than a minute, can you?

  Shut up, the first voice growled. Just get him now.

  I am so sick of you ordering me –

  Did you call me, Sehuna?

  Luhan. Tap into that girl’s mind.

  … why? Everyone can –

  I could a minute ago, but now I can’t read her thoughts.

  That’s ridiculous, we all can –

  I just can’t, Tao! Try for yourself, then!

  Andrea’s breathing quickened. She didn’t like what the voices were saying, and on top of that, she didn’t like the fact that three imaginary male voices were having an imaginary conversation in her head.

  Bless the stars!

  Luhan?

  I can’t… I can’t hear her, too.

  This is nonsense! Luhan is the best at telepathy!

  But I really cannot hear her, Tao. It’s like… there’s a solid wall –

  But Tao and I just heard her thoughts minutes ago when I saw her walk nearer to us.

  -that she made by herself.

  Now that is pure madness. Only us three, Kris, Xuimin and Chen can make our own mind walls!

  But she can. And it’s the most solid wall I have ever come across.

  Who, by the name of stars, is she?

  “Who are you…?” Andrea’s question was nothing more than a whisper, but it got carried in the wind and seemed to echo throughout the whole woods.

  Did she just –

  Can she hear us? Luhan, can she hear us telepathing each other?!

  I-I don’t know. But…

  But?

  I can clearly feel something connecting with us. And it’s not from any of us. The third voice suddenly turned directed to Andrea. It’s from her.

  She was definitely going mad. She was in a possibly-full-of-magic forest at dawn, and maybe her brain was burning of fatigue from processing so much information even though her conversation with Baekhyun and Kai was yesterday afternoon. So of course she would be imagining voices, all she needed was to go back to the cottage and lie down on her soft bed –

  Can you hear us, girly? The imaginary voices were all directed to Andrea now.

  I’ve only known three people who could block themselves from the outside all the while tap into another’s mind, but they are now all –

  Tao. Let me try something. Luhan, do it with me.

  Do what?

  See if she can really hear our inside conversation.

  I don’t think it’s a good idea –

  Say my name, girly. Say it out loud: Se Hun.

  Sehuna, you’re losing it –

  Andrea opened slowly, hesitating. She still thought she was going mad, and she knew that what she was going to do would just make her feel like a fool…

  “Se… Hun.” The syllables surprisingly rolled off Andrea’s tongue with no effort, as if she had said them a million times before. “Se Hun," she said again, this time with more force.

  The wind picked up so immediately that Andrea almost lost her balance. Her hair got caught in it and started flying around her, causing her to shut her eyes for a brief moment.

  When she opened her eyes again, she wasn’t alone.

[A/N] NO MORE LONG UPDATES I SWEAR. I mean, I suddenly felt like doing updates that are SO LONG makes me not want to read them and... yeah. SO in the future the updates won't be too long! YAY. WHICH MEANS MORE UPDATES HEHE.

LOVE YOU ALL FOR READING THIS FIC <3<3