The Forbidden Woods, it turned out, wasn’t merely an endless bundle of trees.

  As Andrea followed Sehun, Luhan and Tao, treading on red-greenish leaves and soil with strange, gold pecks, she never imagined she would walk into a whole new different world in just ten minutes walking time.

  “Watch the river; we don’t want to pull your dead body out of it,” Tao warned.

  River? Andrea thought. Where –

  Then she saw it. She saw the clearing just a few feet away, and in between the new village in front of her and the Woods she had just walked out of, there was a river that seemed to be made of shining stars. It was difficult to guess if it was shallow or deep, but Tao’s words diminished her curiosity of finding out.

  Luhan touched his right temple with his middle finger when they reached the bank, and a second later, the bridge that was lifted up on the other side started lowering down. But before Andrea could step onto it, the bridge started lifting up into the air again, with the three boys on the middle.

  “It’s okay!” Luhan shouted to somewhere far on his left. “She’s with us!”

***

  To Andrea, she would rather be ignored than be pointed at with arrows.

  Sehun had to tell the guards at the other side of the river bank that Andrea was just a special guest, and after a few hard minutes of arguing with a bulky guy – who seemed to be the one in charge of the guards – they finally put their weapons down.

  Still, she felt like a strange being walking in this unfamiliar village.

  She was bewildered. So The Forbidden Woods was just a kind of barrier, a kind of wall between the Southern Commonwealth and this… this weird-looking village? Was she the only one who knew about this place, this place full of people with different hair colors, eye colors and just… different?

  After walking past numerous cottages and being stared at and pointed at by men, women and children, the three boys stopped at a cottage at the very end of the street. Before Sehun could knock, the door opened, and Andrea couldn’t help but gasp.

  “B-Bethany?!”

  The woman standing in front of her widened her eyes to the same extent as Andrea’s. “W – “ Before she could speak, Andrea engulfed her in a hug.

  “Bethany! I can’t… I don’t… but I saw you get taken away! After…” Andrea pulled away to get a better look at the woman before her. “After you got… Marked…”

  The shock and surprise in the woman’s eyes turned into realization and sadness. “Oh…” she blinked back tears, “so that’s why she isn’t here yet… she got captured.”

  “… Bethany?”

  She smiled. “Bethany is my sister, young, beautiful lady. I am her twin sister, Hazel.”

  “B-but…” Andrea breathed heavily. “Then what… why…”

  Hazel glanced at Sehun who was standing behind Andrea, shared a look with him, and smiled a reassuring smile at her. “Come in,” she said as she put an arm around Andrea’s shoulder. “I suppose a cup of tea would be the best for you right now.”

***

  “Although Bethany and I are twin sisters, I had some abilities she didn’t have, and she had some privileges I could never have,” Hazel explained as Andrea nibbled on her third cookie.

  Abilities? Privileges?

  “But then after the Fire, when – Oh Sehun you get your dirty foot off my table – we got banned from the Southern Commonwealth – Huang Zitao how many times do I have to tell you to keep your bloody stick away from my vases – I got separated from her.” Hazel sat down on the couch across from Andrea. “We love each other, and it’s been so many years since I’ve seen her… so I asked them a favor to make her one of us and reunite us again.”

  “Them? Them who?” The cookie in Andrea’s hand didn’t taste delicious anymore. “And what do you mean, ‘make her one of us’?”

  “The Fetchers,” Hazel replied. “They’ve been helpful these past few years.”

  “What – “

  “You know what we are, girly.” Sehun looked at Andrea through slit eyes, sitting comfortably on the couch. “You’re just refusing to believe it.”

  “No, I don’t.” Andrea stood up. “I don’t know who on this planet you people are, with weird abilities and talking about ‘being banned’ and ‘make her one of us’ – “

  “Stargazers, Andrea." Sehun's gaze on her never wavered. "We’re Stargazers.”

***

  Laughter echoed throughout the castle hallways.

  “Pay me no mind,” Baekhyun said as he smiled to the servants who immediately stopped laughing to bow to the passing prince and the Head of The Royal Guards. “Your laughter lighten up this castle and I thank you for that.”

  Kai scoffed with a smile when he saw how the female (and even some male) servants swooned over Baekhyun’s kindness.

  “What?” The prince asked as he and Kai kept walking down the hallway.

  “You’re too kind, Baek.”

  Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “And that is not appropriate?”

  Kai hesitated. “It’s just… kings cannot be too kind. They must maintain a strong, powerful posture, too.”

  “I’m not one, Kai.”

  “But you will be. Soon.”

  Baekhyun sighed heavily. “But when? Uncle never tells me, Kai, and I’m already 18! Almost 19, to be exact! Besides,” He took a deep breath, “what if I don’t want to be king? As much as I love all the people in this realm, what if I just want to be a free man and be able to do anything I want, at any time I want? And maybe even fall in love of my own will, not be stuck in an arranged marriage?”

  “Baek, if this is about Princess Celeste – “

  “Princess Celeste… is a nice lady.”

  “But she’s not Andrea.”

  Baekhyun almost tripped over his foot. “I-I…” he looked away from his best friend’s teasing smile after giving him a glare. “This has nothing to do with Andrea.”

  “My apologies, what I actually meant to say is ‘But she’s not the one you have your heart set for.’” Kai laughed when Baekhyun pushed him into the wall.

  “Andrea is just…” Baekhyun cleared his throat, trying to lower the temperature of his face. “Andrea is just – good gods!”

  When Baekhyun and Kai turned at a corner, they almost bumped into someone who was hurriedly dashing down the staircase. “Gillian?” Baekhyun took in the male’s pale-white face. “What is of the matter?”

  “I…” Gillian looked shocked to see the two boys. “Why… why were the two of you talking to Andrea Archer yesterday?”

  Baekhyun and Kai took in sharp breaths at the same time. “How did you know – “

  “Do not go near her again.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Baekhyun exclaimed, extremely confused. “Gillian – “

  “Is there something you are concealing from us, Gillian?” Kai asked. “Do you know – “

  “No,” Gillian replied, a little bit too quick. He gulped, then as if remembering something, he took a step back. “A villager witnessed you two having a conversation with her, and I was lucky enough to have stopped him before reporting this to the king. I cannot… you cannot afford to be seen with a hunter’s daughter, Baekhyun.”

  “So you know? That Rick Archer, the one His Majesty sent Baek to find, has a daughter?”

  Gillian gazed over to Kai, but he didn’t seem focused. “Of course. Now I must go, but you two have to listen to me. Stay away from her. I… I beg of you.”

  And with that, he left.

  Maybe it was because of the pearl-white moonlight that had shown up on Gillian’s face, exaggerating his features and wrinkles. Maybe it was because Baekhyun and Kai were too shocked by the fact that they had been seen with Andrea.

  No matter what, they failed to notice the faint twitch of Gillian’s lips and his few quick blinks that appeared after he had said ‘No.’

  Which were the indications that he was lying.

[A/N] Sorry if there are any mistakes or anything... it's 5 in the morning and my parents are gonna be awake any minute LOL. GOTTA RUN!

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