Confused? read this: As said in the forward, this fic will work like this, we’ll give you a chapter and after you read it, there will be four options for you to choose, all with possible ways of continuing the past chapter. Whatever option gets more votes will be the continuation of the story and so on until the last chapter. Every week we'll post the voting results up there so everyone can check on it u.u 

This up there is the result of our last pool so, as you all can see, Luhan won the voting and we’ll start telling his story now, at first… I hope you enjoy it, and also the votings ;u;

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In one of the richest and most powerful kingdoms of all, there was a royal family that anxiously expected to hear word from their healers. They had been waiting for hours now and it was hard to hide how uncomfortable it was to just sit there. The thrones the king and queen sat in were made of ivory and were six feet tall with lion figures carved on each side, and the whole room was equally tremendous and quite expensive. The fact that it was expensive, however, didn’t mean it was comfortable.

The king didn’t mind the waiting though, because it was for a good cause. He had something the other kingdoms didn’t have, the power to win battles and settle great deals. He had an oracle, a girl considered able of giving wise counsel based on prophetic predictions or precognition of the future. It was believed that this girl, as well as other similar entities, was inspired by the gods, and her power would be a form of divination.

Their oracle, however, seemed to be dying already, even if she was barely sixteen years old. The queen knew it would happen the last time she went to consult with the oracle, and she realized how dried her skin and hair looked, and how bony and frail she was. Oracles were difficult to keep, they didn’t last much, the poor things.

The woman sighed and she told one of the wards to take the prince to his room. The girl nodded and called the little boy that played near his mother’s throne. Not long after the boy and the ward were gone, the door from the hall was opened, and the couple glanced up at the kingdom’s master of potions expectantly. The man approached and knelt before the thrones.

-My king, my queen, I come with news from the temple.

-Say it quickly. – The king was incisive.

-The oracle. – The man said. - She didn’t resist…

The king sighed heavily. -She died?

-It was the black water, sire. It the life out of her.

-That’s the problem with these creatures. – The king grumbled. – If you keep them strong, they’ll use their powers against you; if you inhibit their powers, they perish.

The queen shook her head, speaking for the first time that day.

-The realm can’t remain without an oracle. – She pointed. - We need one for the war.

-There’s another oracle in the kingdom, your majesty. – The advisor said. – He’s really young, but I believe he’ll be able to give you the answers you seek.

-Where is this oracle?

-On a village near the mountains, or so was said by many merchants and commoners.

The queen would question the information, since she wasn’t found of trusting commoners, but the king immediately got to his feet.

-Gather some of your man and lead me to him.

-Right away, your majesty.

The man bowed once more and withdrew to comply with his king’s orders.

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Luhan was born different than other kids in the realm. While most of them had black hair and skin battered by the sun, Luhan was blonde and pale looking, no matter how long he lay under the shiny rays. That wasn’t what exactly set him apart from the others though; he was born with the power of seeing into the past, present and future.

Since a very young age, the people from the village usually paid a couple of coins for Luhan to tell them their future, which the child always guessed correctly. They asked about the crops and the rains and the boy would always answer. Whatever Luhan answered, would happen, no matter what.

He didn’t know everything about every person and things in the world, however. He would get insane if he did, but weirdly whenever someone made him a question, he would magically discover the answer. He had other powers too, “powers of the mind” as the older men in the village called. With those Luhan could move objects without touching them and he could create some sort of smoke of his own size that hovered in front of him, though he never figured what he could do with that last one.

His parents and the other people never understood his powers completely. He himself didn’t understand, so how could they?

It was a fault of another aspect of Luhan’s power, because no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t see anything from his own life, not his past, not his future and, of course, not the reason he had that power. He just had it; it was a part of him.

There was another oracle in that realm already, but she was kept in the palace, with the king. She had her ear helix cut and pierced with golden and emerald rings to symbolize her greatness and power, but also to show others that she belonged to the nobles of the realm.

The life of an oracle was hard and usually short, and his parents didn’t want Luhan to be mutilated and kept locked in a dark room in the castle, unable to live his life. If the king found out about Luhan, the young would be bond to a life of servitude for the powerful men of the kingdom.

No, Luhan couldn’t be taken, not while he was still a child. They wanted their son to grow up and find a woman to marry and, if he so desired, he could offer his services to the king later. For now, he was too young to make such decision.

His parents usually didn’t allow him to play far away and they were careful who they told about the child’s power, so the lords and ladies of the land wouldn’t find out and take their son away from them.

On a particularly warm day the couple was busy with their work and Luhan, as any other eight year old would, was getting bored of just sitting under a tree, watching his mother work. There were some children playing nearby and the blonde boy asked if he could join them. The woman told him to ask his father, and he said he would, but he didn’t. Instead Luhan quickly ran to the side of the orchard, to meet the other kids. Soon he was running among them, seeming really excited about playing a catch game.

One of the boys almost caught him, but Luhan was really quick and he started running the other away, looking over his shoulders to check if his friend wasn’t coming. As he wasn’t looking ahead, he bumped into someone’s leg and gave a step back, whimpering at the impact.

-Your majesty, are you ok? – He heard a man in armor ask.

-I’m fine. – The other nodded, bending over to check on Luhan.

-Are you alright, little boy?

Luhan looked up to see an ugly and reddened face looking down at him.

-I’m... I’m sorry. – He asked, the childish voice undulating as he rubbed his sore forehead. – I didn’t see you, sir.

The ugly man smiled and leaned down, grabbing Luhan by the armpits and bringing the easy going child up to his chest. He glanced at his little body with interest.

-Aren’t you the prettiest thing ever? - He said, scrutinizing the milky white skin.

-T-Thank you sir. - The child kept rubbing the side of his temple.

-Let me see where it hurts. - The man grabbed his little hand and pulled it slightly. Luhan dropped his hand, revealing his face and then raised two big eyes to him. The man held the boy’s chin with his hand and examined his beautiful features. 

It wasn't hard to realise that was the oracle. The king had seen many of them already, and Luhan's eyes, hair and skin wouldn't allow him to lie.

-Guards. – He turned to the men that escorted him. – Mark this boy. We are taking him to the palace.

The man nodded and grabbed a knife on the holster of his pants. He called another guard over, who reached up to get Luhan, but the king still held the boy firmly in his grip. He squatted on the floor, Luhan’s feet almost scraping the ground, and the guard kneeled in front of him, trying to take the boy from his arms again. The king flinched, holding the blonde tightly.

-I’ll keep him still. – He told the man. - Just do it.

-Are you sure, your majesty? – The guard said hesitantly. – Children can struggle a lot when we cut them.

-Do it. – He ordered, pulling Luhan’s hair away from his right ear.

Luhan was already uneasy when the men were talking, but when he saw the knife coming in his direction his heart started racing and he started squirming, trying to get rid of the man’s grip.

Another of the guards held Luhan’s chin as the first one took the knife to the side of his head and quickly cut a small gap on his ear helix.

Luhan cried out and squirmed harder, making the knife cut his cheek as well. The king lost his balance and ended up letting go of the boy to stead himself on the floor.

Luhan bit the hand of the guard holding his chin and struggled out of their grip, immediately starting to run as fast as he could.

He heard the men following behind him and he ran faster, panting, his cheeks flushed and his right ear and cheek burning where the knife cut him.

He ran to the forest, disappearing among the trees and bushes, but when he was back to near the village someone called for him and he turned around, looking for the person.

-Luhan! The children said you were gone, what are you doing in this thicket? – His father ran to him, picked him up from among the bushes and checked on the red liquid running down his neck. – Son, you are bleeding… What happened?

-A man cut my ear, appa! – He creaked in his baby voice and his father brushed a strand of his bloody hair away to check the small cut on the helix of his ear.

-Appa? – Luhan called, even more freaked out now that his father looked so scared.

-Did that man have a crown Luhan? A golden hat?

-Not the guy that cut me.

-But there was one with a crown?

-Yes, he picked me up and said I was pretty.

The man turned pale and panted heavily now.

-Oh no…

-What’s wrong? – Luhan cried nervously.

His father didn’t answer him, but held on him tighter and ran to the village, quickly entering his friend’s, the blacksmith, tent.

-What happened? – The blacksmith asked, glancing at the bleeding boy.

-He chose Luhan. – The man huffed. – The king chose Luhan to be the next oracle.

-Oh Lord... - The blacksmith whispered and then ran to get a clean cloth to wipe the blood out of the boy’s skin. – How is he here then?

-He ran away.

-What are you going to do now?

-I’ll take him to the shack, at least until he’s grown enough.

-How will you keep him there? – He asked rubbing the cloth against Luhan’s neck and cheek and then running to grab something to tie his ear back together. - He’s a kid, what if…

-I’ll lock him there.

-You’ll take food to him there?

-Yes, I’ll go there every day.

-Alright, I’ll help you until we find a better place for him. You can’t keep him locked up there. - He offered, and the boy cried louder when the man tied a cloth around his wound. – I can’t go with you, but for now, take my wagon. We can hide Luhan among the objects behind.

-Thank you, thank you so much.

-No problem my friend, now let’s go, quickly.

They went to the back of the tent and arranged everything on the wagon, and they put Luhan on the middle of some hay, telling him to keep quiet.

The boy did, listening attentively as his father thanked the man once more and told him goodbye, quickly sitting on the wagon and driving it away, out of the market, passing through the orchards.

The wagon shook a lot and Luhan felt sick and breathless in the middle of the hay, but since his father told him to stay quiet, he did. He disobeyed his mother earlier that day and went to play with the other kids, and all he won was a cut in his ear and cheek. He didn’t think it was a good idea to disobey his father now.

Soon the horses stopped and, in a couple of minutes, the hay was shoved away and his father was calling him. Luhan ran to the man’s arms and he held the boy against his chest, soothing him and telling him everything would be alright.

Luhan peered at the unknown forest around him with a bit of apprehension. Where was his father taking him?

He spotted a little house nearby, with walls of stones and wood. The roof was made out of straw and there was a window at the front and another to the side, and a wooden door at the middle. It was a hunting shack, a place where the man of the village slept when they were out in the woods searching for food.

The man put Luhan on the floor near the door and took a key from his pocket, unlocking it.

-Go on. – He told Luhan and the child stepped inside.

There was nearly nothing in the place but a single bed, a dresser and a small cubicle of wood that served as the bathroom.

Luhan looked around with curiosity until his father grabbed him by his armpits and made him sit over the bed. Despite Luhan’s nervousness, he ended up giggling, thinking his father’s face looked weird in that retorted way.

-This is a nice house, appa. – He smiled contently.

The man kneeled beside the bed in front of Luhan and held the child’s hands in his own.

-Luhan listen to me, this is important. – He said, his tone grave. – There are people out there, people after you and, for your protection, you will stay here for a while, you understand?

Luhan nodded. – Is appa going to stay with me?

The man shook his head.

-I can’t stay Luhan, I have to go back home.

Luhan blinked, confused.

-Then can I go home with appa?

The man sighed.

-What did I just tell you? – He asked tenderly. - You have to stay here.

-Alone?

-I’m afraid so…

Luhan threw himself on his father’s neck, holding onto him tightly.

-I’m sorry I went to play with the other kids without asking. – He cried. - I’ll never do it again, please appa, take me home with you!

The man hugged Luhan and petted his back.

-There, there, my son. You’ll be just fine, I’ll be back tomorrow.

He grabbed Luhan’s arms and put him over the bed again.

-Stay here. – He ordered and went to the door.

-No, appa! – Luhan ran to him, but his father pushed him away and closed the door, quickly locking it and storing the key on his pocket.

Luhan looked around in despair, trying to find a way to get out of there or to keep his father from leaving. So he stretched his arms the most he could and grabbed the metal bars on the window, pulling himself up until he was able to see his father walking away.

-Appa, don’t leave me! – He cried. - APPA!

-Shh, Luhan. – The man came back to the window and petted his son on the head.

-You have to stay really quiet. – He lectured. – Or else the bad men will come and take you away, understand? Don’t worry, as I said, I’ll be back tomorrow.

-No, appa, appa please. – He pleaded, crying profusely now. - There can be monsters in the woods, you can’t leave me here!

-Yes Luh, baby. – His father nodded, using the cue his son gave him. – There can be monsters out there, so keep silent so they can’t hear you. If you stay really quiet, they’ll think there are no kids here and they’ll walk away, I promise.

-Yeah, appa? – Luhan sobbed and his father swallowed in dry.

-Goodbye, Luhan.

Luhan whimpered. His small hands couldn’t support his weight anymore and he dropped to the floor, tears still streaming down on his face.

-A-ap-pa… – He sobbed as he curled up against the wooden wall, where he stayed for a little less than one hour, until he cried himself to sleep.

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On the next chapter... 

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