[title song: you're my angel (ft. joo) - btob]

chapter 15;

There’s a long stretch of silence, where Baekhyun and Kris stare at each other, the former becoming even more agitated as the latter just smiles, serenely.

Baekhyun grabs Hyemi’s limp hand and places it over the bloody cloth in his grip before getting to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Hyemi looks up at Baekhyun, the cloth slipping from her fingers. She glances from Kris back to Baekhyun, watching as Kris swivels on his heels and walks out the sitting room, Baekhyun following after him. A moment later, Zitao trails after them. Hyemi glares at their retreating backs and calls after them. “What are you going to do? Baekhyun? Baekhyun?”

Chanyeol pulls her back by the wrist when she means to follow them. She turns her scowl on Chanyeol, eyes searching his. “What is he doing? Where are they going?”

Chanyeol stares down at Hyemi, contemplatively, bottom lip caught in his teeth and long hair covering one of his eyes.

Kyungsoo speaks instead, eyes wide and solemn. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Chanyeol produces a clean washcloth from out of nowhere and presses it into her limp hands. Slowly, she presses the cloth on to her wound, nodding slowly at Kyungsoo, who waits patiently. Kyungsoo turns on his heels and walks in the opposite direction that Baekhyun, Kris, and Zitao were headed. Hyemi opens to ask where Kyungsoo is headed but figures neither of them will give her a straight answer anyways. So she promptly shuts and hurries after Kyungsoo, a hand pressed to the side of her head as Chanyeol trails behind her.

~.~.~.~.~

The palace is huge and they go through winding corridor after winding corridor. Kyungsoo looks like he knows exactly where he needs to go and whenever he makes sudden sharp turns, Chanyeol has to steer Hyemi by the shoulders before she accidentally ends up in the wrong corridor.

They pass by framed portraits of elaborately dressed men and women, some of whom have those same exact sharp, full eyebrows Kris has. The portraits stare down at the three of them sternly, as if they’re judging Hyemi’s every move even from their graves. Hyemi feels strangely lightheaded thinking about Kris’s ancestors and she swears she hears faint voices at the back of her mind.

Before she can dwell on it any further, Kyungsoo arrives at a plain looking door, gold and crystal doorknob gleaming against dull wood. Hyemi stumbles into Kyungsoo’s back and Kyungsoo just gives her an unamused look before speaking. “Don’t touch anything in here, alright?”

Kyungsoo opens the door and Hyemi feels a sudden sense of dread wash through her. She doesn’t know why.

The room is elegantly and simply decorated, a large queen sized bed residing in the center, a sheer golden canopy draped over top and spilling over the soft pink sheets. There is a pair of frosted glass doors in one corner, leading into a white room Hyemi assumes is the bathroom, and at the opposite corner, there’s a set of dark, heavy curtains. The wooden floor and wooden table (the only other piece of furniture in the room) are covered with a layer of dust. Hyemi can feel her feet slipping a bit as she fully steps into the room. Dread slithers into her chest and doesn’t leave. She takes in the sight of the crisp white walls and the desk which holds a set of faded blue stationary paper and pencils.

Kyungsoo makes his way across the room and draws back on of the thick, black curtains. He beckons to Hyemi and Chanyeol and after a moment, Hyemi tears her eyes away from the stationary adorning the desk. Kyungsoo slides open the wooden door behind the curtain and all three of them wince at the screeching sound of unused metal against metal.

Sunlight floods the room and Hyemi blinks away the sudden intrusion of light.

It’s a spacious balcony, overlooking the town surrounding the castle. The railings reach higher than any set of balcony railings should, and Hyemi wonders why they’re taller than even Chanyeol. The bars of the railing are thick, the space between each bar barely big enough to stick her hand through.

“What is this—?”

“She is our prisoner, dear people of EXO planet, and she has agreed to bear her mother’s sins without complaint.”

Hyemi scrambles to the far corner of the balcony, nudging past Kyungsoo.

Kris’s voice booms through the air, the jeering of hundreds of people echoing long after his words, and when she peers through the railing she can just make him out. She clutches at the thick bars as she presses her face closer. She can see Kris at the head of the large, swaying crowd, speaking at a podium.

And standing beside him, in shackles, is…

It’s her. It’s Hyemi.

“Baek has the ability to manipulate light.” Chanyeol explains softly, from somewhere behind her. “He’s casting an illusion.”

Hyemi remembers the way everyone back home, her father, her classmates, their friends, had forgotten about Baekhyun’s existence. She glances back at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, the former lost in thought as the latter looks exhausted.

“Does that mean he can make people forget about him?” Hyemi asks.

Chanyeol shakes his head, eyebrows furrowed. “He manipulates light. If you’re asking about how he disappeared after his mission was finished…” Chanyeol trails off and Hyemi nods, quickly, watching Chanyeol in anticipation. “Baekhyun can fracture images. He can make your eyes think they’re seeing something that isn’t there. And vice versa. Baekhyun’s entire existence in your world was fabricated and when he broke that illusion, he disappeared. He never existed in the first place. He was never really there. Everyone saw him as a different person. No one could ever quite remember exactly who Baekhyun was.”

Hyemi thinks back on it and realizes that it’s true. Even her own father was never quite sure of who Baekhyun was, whenever she’d mention that she was going somewhere with him. He’d always look contemplative, as if he was trying to match a name to a face. Hyemi had always assumed her father didn’t like Baekhyun. Hyemi purses her lips, “But…how did I—”

“The illusion became too deeply engrained in your mind. No one really knows why it stayed with you. You weren’t supposed to remember him. You should have forgotten about him.” Kyungsoo interrupts, pity in his tone that Hyemi can’t stand. Chanyeol ‘s eyes fill with sympathy and Hyemi turns away, staring back out over the crowd of people shouting as Kris riles them up.

The shouting is loud and there are cheers of encouragement intermingled with loud boos. She clutches the bars and holds back a gasp when the crowd starts throwing things again, one of their objects apparently hitting Baekhyun’s illusion of Hyemi, seeing as Illusion Hyemi falls to her feet rather suddenly.

Hyemi quickly turns away from the scene and looks up at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. “They don’t want to give me a chance to fix things, do they?”

Kyungsoo just shakes his head.

It’s quiet for a long time before Chanyeol speaks cheerily, grinning rather creepily. “Well, we’re lucky this is a monarchy and whatever Kris says goes, aren’t we?”

Kyungsoo hits Chanyeol across the back of the head, shaking his head as Chanyeol whines. “Idiot.” Kyungsoo mutters as he heads back into the room.

Hyemi stands up and brushes off her hands, glancing around the spacious balcony. Something about the high railings and thick bars reminds her of a prison.

As she follows Kyungsoo out of the room, she tries to ignore the way the faded blue stationary and wooden desk seems vaguely familiar, dread and inexplicable fear bubbling up in her chest when her eyes momentarily drift over the frosted glass doors in the corner.

Instead she tries to focus on Chanyeol rattle on about something she doesn’t understand until Kyungsoo eventually tells him to shut up.

~.~.~.~.~

Hyemi finds Baekhyun sitting on a high backed chair in the drawing room, Zitao holding out a soft blue sweater for Baekhyun, while Kris paces back and forth behind him.

Kris looks up as soon as he senses Hyemi’s presence. His eyes narrow into slits, gaze falling on Chanyeol. “You weren’t supposed to take her up there.” Hyemi watches in confusion as Kris takes long strides in Chanyeol’s direction, brushing Hyemi out of the way.

Chanyeol seems so uncharacteristically solemn even as Kris grabs him by the collar. Hyemi doesn’t understand why Kris looks so angry. She doesn’t understand why Chanyeol doesn’t even try to brush Kris away or defend himself in anyway. Kris raises his fist, anger radiating off him in waves, and Hyemi quickly tries to intervene. She grabs Kris’s arm, “Stop.”

 He shoves her off of him, so suddenly she loses her footing. She stumbles back and tries to catch herself, a hand quickly steadying her before she falls on her back. Kris actually flinches away from her touch and the tension in his body seems to reach maximum levels. The moment she stumbles back Kyungsoo steps in front of Hyemi, blocking Hyemi from Kris’s view. He grabs Kris’s shoulder, grip tight. “She’s right, Kris. You need to stop.”

Kris breathes heavily and Hyemi swears she sees a flash of fiery red in his eyes before he blinks it away. Kyungsoo waits for Kris to withdraw his hand from around Chanyeol’s collar and then he speaks. “I took her up there.”

Kris places a large hand over his face and grunts. Chanyeol rolls his eyes, smirking slightly, and Hyemi feels out of the loop, once again.

“Why?” Kris mumbles.

“The balcony up there has the best view of the grounds.” Kyungsoo explains.

Kris doesn’t respond, his shoulders still tense.

Only then does she realize that Baekhyun is at her side, hovering protectively over her. Zitao is still standing back next to the couches, an unamused frown on his face as he holds the blue sweater. She looks up at him, internally shaken, and watches as his jaw clenches and does that thing she admittedly finds entirely too attractive. She quickly looks away, filing that thought away as quickly as she can.

“Kris.” Baekhyun calls, snappily.

Kris still has his hand over his face and his response comes out muffled. “What?”

“Touch her like that again and I’ll kill you.” Baekhyun says, softly, casually.

Kris snorts softly. It sounds like a cross between a sound of disbelief and amusement. Baekhyun grins in response, teeth sharp and smile almost disconcerting in its ferocity.

Baekhyun’s hand slips down Hyemi’s arm, fingers leaving a trail of goosebumps along the skin there, before his soft fingers fill the spaces between hers. He tugs her along, stopping only to take the blue sweater from Zitao before leaving the drawing room.

Hyemi lets him pull her along in silence while she examines his back. She’s stares at his tattered shirt, at the hints of milky white skin and lean muscles peeking out from between the ripped shirt, and wonders why the hell Baekhyun’s so comfortable navigating this castle.

~.~.~.~.~

“Why do you hate Kris so much?” Hyemi asks as she draws her knees up to her chest and rests her chin there, watching Baekhyun as he steps out of the bathroom, steam billowing out from behind him.

Baekhyun had taken her through a few corridors and into a room he had said was Hyemi’s for the remainder of their stay. He also added that his room was just across the hall and Chanyeol’s was just around the corner (although the last part was tacked on as an afterthought). The room was more furnished than the one with the balcony. There was a soft queen sized bed in the center and two nightstands on either side, large lamps sitting on either side. The lamps were fascinating, seeing as they just sort of floated in their spots, the soft purple crystal winding around in the air in an intricate design. Baekhyun had snapped his fingers and she watched in amazement as the lamps sprung to life, bright light flooding the dim room. Baekhyun had then told her she’d have to tap the top since she couldn’t manipulate light, expression too smug and self-important for her taste. There was a vintage looking vanity against one of the walls and she recognized the combs lined up along the desk, sorted by height and color. A small desk and chair sat at the furthest corner, books and stationary stacked neatly. She could see stamps but she doubted the mailman would deliver any of her mail back to earth. Intergalactic shipping alone would probably cost a small fortune.

There’s a small bathroom Baekhyun had pointed out before disappearing in there without another word. Hyemi’s pretty sure Baekhyun’s room (which was not even that far) had a bathroom as well, but she decides not to question why he’s using hers.

She watches as Baekhyun rubs his hair with his towel and as soon as she realizes that he’s shirtless, condensation causing streaks of water to glisten on his skin, she blushes, cheeks burning. She averts her gaze but doesn’t miss the playful smirk falling from his lips, his eyes knowing.

“Isn’t the answer obvious?” Baekhyun responds. She furrows her eyebrows at her knees.

“You know.” She snaps, looking up at him. Thankfully, he has the blue sweater on, hair a little damn and cheeks pink from the steam of the shower. “You really need to stop answering my questions with questions.”

Baekhyun heaves out a loud sigh and crosses his arms. “He just…changed.” Baekhyun relents, much to Hyemi’s surprise. She expected him to continue speaking in riddles, but he’s actually telling her something. She must look shocked because Baekhyun sighs again. “I don’t like talking about it.”

She stares at him expectantly. When he doesn’t continue, she glares. “I know that as a friend I should respect your boundaries. And I want to.” She pulls her knees closer to her chest, eyes dropping back to her crossed hands. “But I’m tired of the secrets Baekhyun. I’m tired of being out of the loop. No one is respecting my boundaries here, no one cares. I just ask questions that no one answers and I’m tired of it. I’m sorry but I’m tired, Baek.”

The bed dips to her left and she stares at him. He seems almost hesitant, fingers reaching for her before he pulls them back in. Hyemi speaks softly, afraid to break the tension growing between them. “I deserve answers.”

Gently, so gently she barely feels it at first, Baekhyun reaches for her cheeks. The tips of his fingers draw her towards him as he turns her head in his direction. Hyemi’s breath catches in her chest when he leans forward, the smell of peppermint shampoo drifting between them and filling her senses. His fingertips are light as feathers and she can’t look away when he locks his gaze with hers. “Don’t forget to breathe.” He murmurs and that’s when she realizes that she’s been holding her breath. She exhales softly, scowling at him weakly for being so obviously amused, and he chuckles, the sound of his voice so low and throaty that it leaves her feeling weak and energized, at the same time.

“If you’re tired.” He begins, lashes brushing against his cheeks when he doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that he’s focused on Hyemi’s lips. “Then rest.”

She leans closer, his whole being acting like a magnet that she just can’t seem to separate from. Her hands are twisting in his blue sweater and she doesn’t even remember when she had let go of her knees and put her hands on his chest. She’s sitting cross-legged now while he’s kneeling on the bed, barely a couple centimeters from her.

That’s when he suddenly pulls back allowing the two of them room to breathe, and Hyemi nearly falls forward, into his lap. She blinks, blushing because of how easily he affects her. They’re really not that far apart; if she wanted to she could lean in just so and capture those soft pink lips in hers. Her blush deepens and she forces herself to stop thinking about his lips or the exact proximity of his body to hers or the smell of his peppermint shampoo or the way he keeps his lips, tongue darting out. She just needs to stop thinking about Baekhyun.

Baekhyun gently nudges her against the bed and she stares at him in bewilderment, blush creeping down her neck. Baekhyun turns a bit pink, too, at the very tip of his ears and rolls his eyes. His voice comes out much lower than it usually is. “You need to sleep, Hyemi.” Baekhyun says. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

Baekhyun looks very stern and eventually she nods, “Fine.” She mutters.

She watches as Baekhyun peels back the blankets and after a moment of hesitation, she crawls into bed. “Baek.” Hyemi calls out, after he’s done putting the blanket over her body.

“Hmm?” Baekhyun hums, his pretty fingers finding her hair. She closes her eyes for a moment, appreciating the way he brushes her hair back, fingers warm as they play with the strands of her hair.

“Please answer my question.”

Baekhyun’s hand falls from her hair and it’s incredibly silent.

She opens her eyes and looks up at him, the crystal lights dousing his face in a strange way, shadows casting upwards.

There’s something off with his tone, his expression grim. “All you need to know.” He pauses, sighing. “All I can tell you is that when it came time to choose our futures, Kris chose a path that wasn’t…good. He chose what he thought he had to and forced himself to become someone he isn’t. He did…He did things I can’t forgive him for.”

“What did he do?” Hyemi slowly sits up. Baekhyun doesn’t look at her, his whole body going stiff as a board. For a second, she gets the urge to throw her arms around him.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Baekhyun bites out, making Hyemi flinch.

Before Hyemi can respond, Baekhyun turns on his heels and is out the door. He slams the door so hard, a couple of her combs fall off the edge of the desk with a dull thud.

~.~.~.~.~

Baekhyun doesn’t wake her up in the morning, instead she finds Chanyeol knocking at her bedroom door. He grins down at her as she rubs her eyes sleepily and tries her best not to look at Baekhyun’s bedroom door across the hall.

Chanyeol walks her towards the dining room and the small talk between them is surprisingly comfortable for someone who constantly does whatever Kris asks him to. At least Chanyeol doesn’t question why Baekhyun hadn’t took her to breakfast and she want to ask Chanyeol why but she honestly needs to stop depending on Baekhyun so much, if she’s being honest.

They eat breakfast that’s somehow magically waiting for them at the dining table when Chanyeol jumps, digging through his jacket pocket for a moment. “Here.” He says, sliding a folded sheet of paper across the table. She looks at it curiously.

“Um.”

“It’s really cool.” Chanyeol assures her.

“It’s a blank piece of paper.” She tells him, pointing at it.

Chanyeol just laughs. “It’s just any blank piece of paper. It’s a map. Just tell it where you want to go and it’ll figure everything out for you.” Hyemi must look confused because Chanyeol pulls the spoon out of his mouth and leans forward. “Let’s say you want to find the ridiculously hot, pun absolutely intended, captain of the Royal Guard?” Chanyeol winks and Hyemi rolls her eyes. He points at the paper. “Just tell it that and it’ll help you find your way to him. If you’re lost and don’t know how to get back to your room, just tell it and it’ll help you get there.” He grins and Hyemi stares at the paper, doubtfully. “It’s really helpful. I know it’s kind of confusing to navigate the castle, so I thought this would help you.”

“Kind of confusing?” Hyemi snorts, shaking her head. “That’s an understatement, Chanyeol. This place is a maze.”

Chanyeol waves his hand dismissively, “You’ll get used to it.”

She looks up at him, then, eyes unwavering, and nose scrunched. “I don’t want to stay here long enough to get used to it.” She says, truthfully.

Chanyeol doesn’t meet her eyes, chair scarping across the floor loudly as he gets to his feet, breakfast unfinished. “You’ll get used to it.” He repeats, tone sad.

Hyemi watches him leave, his words echoing in her head.

Why do his words sound like a prison sentence? Why does she feel like with each passing minute her chance of leaving soon is deteriorating?

She looks up at the palace’s high ceiling and wonders why it feels like the walls feel like they’re about to squeeze in on her, even though they’re so spacious.

~.~.~.~.~

Exploring the palace turns out to be a lot more boring than she had expected it to be.

Every single room is like the room before. They’re all the same, from the queen sized bed to the wooden desks and chairs to the small bathroom. Everything is the same.

The map might be the most interesting thing at her disposal at the moment. She had done exactly what Chanyeol had instructed. She told the map she wanted to explore the castle. She couldn’t believe her eyes when lines began to appear, intertwining and weaving across the piece of paper. She watched in amazement and awe as a thoroughly detailed map of the entire castle drew itself out right in front of her eyes. What was even more remarkable were the little dots scattered across the map, words scrawled out neatly next to them as they moved sporadically. It took her a moment to realize that these dots were the people inhabiting the castle, the words representing their names. Her dot and name was a bright blue, the rest of the map a soft black. It was almost exactly like that map from the Harry Potter movies Minah obsessed over and liked to watch over and over again nearly every weekend. Only it’s real and not some concept in a movie. It’s incredible.

Hyemi stands in the middle of the hall and examines the map. She can make out Baekhyun, Zitao, and Kris all the way on the other side of the castle, the two of their dots stationary. She sees Chanyeol winding through corridors, stopping only occasionally. There’s even Kyungsoo, who’s continuously pacing back and forth. She guesses he’s guarding someone, seeing as the room he’s pacing in front of is preoccupied by someone. King, it reads simply.

She stares at the King’s stationary dot, a sense of foreboding rising in her chest. She feels strangely restless so she starts walking, eyes still fixed on the map. She can’t look away from the King’s dot.

Suddenly, the king disappears.

Hyemi skids to a halt, peering at the map. She searches all the names, yet the king’s dot and name is gone. He’s completely disappeared off the map, as if he’s teleported away or something.

She stares and stares, walking through the halls aimlessly.

And just as suddenly as the dot disappeared, it reappears.

King.

It remains stationary but it’s back.

A reasonable explanation would be that the King has the ability to teleport. If Jongin can do it, then why can’t the King?

But that peculiar sense of foreboding returns and she feels sick.

Hyemi looks up and realizes she’s in the hallway filled with portraits of Kris’s ancestors.

Something, and she doesn’t know what, tells her the King can’t teleport.

Yet she watches, once again, as the King’s dot disappears off the map, only to reappear a few minutes later. How does someone just flicker in and out of existence like that?

The hairs at the back of Hyemi’s neck prickles and Hyemi senses a pair of eyes on her, the foreboding feeling hitting her square in the gut. She looks up and is met with a woman’s portrait, face pretty but stern, eyes accusing almost. The portrait hangs between a bunch of portraits of men, all Kris’s ancestors, judging from the regal beauty oozing from their portraits.

Hyemi feels awfully peculiar right then, pain shooting up her temple and through to top of her crown. She loses her breath and can’t look away from the unknown woman’s portrait, her stomach rolling. Her head begins to pound and her thoughts echo and she—

~.~.~.~.~

“Let go of me!” A shrill voice cuts through Hyemi’s thoughts and she pries her eyes open. She’s in the same exact hallway but there’s something different about it. The tapestries seem newer, brighter, and there aren’t so many portraits lining the walls.

The woman from the portrait, the one with the stern expression and accusing eyes, is right in front of Hyemi. Not as a portrait, however. She’s alive. Hyemi steps back and wonders if she’s in some kind of vision. The woman is dressed in a formfitting dress that hugs her body, accentuating her soft curves. Hyemi can see the faint line of where her foundation ends, just along the curve of her neck. Her hair is pinned up elegantly and her red painted lips are turned down into a stern frown. The woman looks as if she’s in her mid-forties, the need for perfection obvious with her every movement. Only then does Hyemi realize that the woman is holding someone’s arm in a tight grip.

Hyemi examines the young girl who the woman is holding on to. The girl is barely a teenager; she can’t be any older than thirteen. She dressed in a faded blue dress that seems to engulf her form, restricting her movements. It looks wrong on her, Hyemi thinks. The girl seems too wild to wear such a dress. Her dark hair is long and falls down her back in gentle waves. Her features are sharp and her dark eyes are narrowed into slits, expression furious. Hyemi recognizes the way the girl scrunches her nose and she wonders where she’s seen this girl before.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The woman asks, ignoring the girl’s protests.

Hyemi watches as the girl’s expression drops into a helpless one when she realizes she can’t escape from the woman’s grip. Hyemi examines the girl’s features, the sharp cheekbones and slanted eyes, and then it all clicks. She sees the dull fire in the girl’s eyes, the blatant stubbornness in her stance, and instantly realizes who this girl is.

“I don’t want to do this.” The girl exclaims, tugging at her arm.

It’s Hyemi’s mother.

But the eyes are different and Hyemi wants to know how those dark eyes became the unnaturally unsettling shade Hyemi sees in the mirror every day.

The woman shakes her head, disappointment in her uncaring eyes. “It’s your duty, Asha. You will fulfill your duty.”

Hyemi’s mother—Asha—seems to deflate, eyes filling with unshed tears. “I’ll be trapped there. Once the ritual is done I can’t leave. I can’t live. I’ll be stuck in that forest alone. Please, mother, don’t make me do this. Please.” Her voice cracks at the end and Hyemi’s heart twists at the sound of it.

The woman cuts through Asha’s soft pleas. “You still want to call me mother when you so blatantly disobey me?”

Asha opens to say something but is immediately cut off by the woman’s loud, echoing voice. “The Prince helped you escape from the slums, Asha. The King and I brought you into our palace with open arms, despite the criticism. My family saved you from a life of starving and thieving. We gave you a meaning in life, we gave you a future! And this is how you choose to repay us? You disregard our only request for you and try to run away. Are you truly so ungrateful? Do you really think you should be allowed to address me as mother when you repay me and my family like this?”

“I…I didn’t mean it that way.” Asha glances away, down the hall. Hyemi watches as she raises a trembling hand and wipes the unshed tears from her eyes.

“I will overlook your disrespect if you come back with me and go through with this ceremony. This is important for society as we know it, so you will do it. You will go through with this ceremony.” The woman says, tone leaving no room for argument. Asha opens , but the woman cuts her off. “Do you understand?”

It’s quiet for so long, the two of them staring at each other. The woman is unwavering and eventually Asha relents.

“Yes…” Asha nods. “I understand.”

The woman Asha’s cheek, gently. “Good.”

Hyemi watches as the scene melts away and a beautiful forest replaces it, a surge of energy pulses through her veins at the sight of it.

She floats forward, her feet never quite touching the ground. The sun is just setting and dusk sets a soft glow throughout the forest. A line of hooded people trail past Hyemi, heading away from the forest, voices hushed.

Hyemi stares up at a gigantic tree, power surging from its core.

Lying at the base of the tree, arms and legs sprawled out and hair fanned out around her, is Hyemi’s mother, Asha.

Her simple shift dress is thin and Hyemi can see the goosebumps trailing up her arms and legs.

Hyemi peers into her mother’s face and that’s when Asha’s eyes snap open, going wide.

Hyemi jumps back in surprise, watching as thirteen year old Asha stares up above her for a long time, chest rising and falling steadily.

When Asha sits up, her eyes seem to glow through the growing darkness. They’re an unnatural mix of forest green and chocolate brown, flecks of bright gold interspersed throughout.

“Prince.” Asha states, in a voice that seems almost dull. It sounds dead to Hyemi’s ears and she bites her lips. Asha is staring straight through Hyemi, so Hyemi steps away, glancing behind her.

A man a couple years older than Asha, a teenager on the verge of becoming a man, maybe sixteen at most, steps out of the shadows. He has a regal and handsome face that seems alluring. He reminds Hyemi of Kris, but he doesn’t resemble Kris in any way except for the smile. The man’s—the prince’s—eyes are dark. They glint in the setting sun. His eyes hold secrets and hidden truths, a wicked twinkle in them that Hyemi doesn’t like. Asha just stares at the boy, expression blank.

“Asha.” The Prince mocks her tone, a lopsided smile falling from his lips. His eyes flicker over her, expression strangely unreadable.

Asha shakes her head. She holds out her arms and looks around, before her head falls back, white column of visible. Hyemi sees a faint bruise at the base of her neck, the tiny imprint of a needle pinprick visible. Asha stares up at the tree for a long time.  The Prince stands there patiently; eyes trained on her every movement.

Finally she looks back to the Prince, an indecipherable expression clouding her face. “You’ve won.” She states, voice void of emotion.

“Oh, I know, love.” The Prince grins, mimicking Kris’s mocking smile perfectly. He takes a step in her direction, eyes black as night. “Have you not realized that I always win?”

~.~.~.~.~

Hyemi gasps for breath and finds herself on her hands and knees, the map to her right. Her stomach reels and she takes deep breaths, sweat gathering along her forehead.

Hyemi can’t help but wonder why that woman had forced her mother into becoming the vessel. Why didn’t they get someone who was willing? Maybe then the planet wouldn’t be the way it is.

Hyemi counts to three nearly ten times before she feels she’s ready to get to her feet. The world sways but she keeps her balance, grasping for the map.

She needs to go back to her room, so she tells the map and follows the path.

~.~.~.~.~

“Hyemi, are you okay?”

Hyemi looks up from the map and sees Kyungsoo walking towards her, wide eyes concerned. Hyemi nods, still feeling queasy. “I’m fine.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t look convinced at all. She nearly tips over and Kyungsoo quickly grabs her before she hits the ground. “What the hell?” He mutters. He places a hand on Hyemi’s forehead and grimaces. “You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine.” She hums, shaking her head as she tries to pull away from Kyungsoo. She just needs to get to her bed and sleep. She’ll be okay after she sleeps. Besides, Hyemi is really tired of constantly being saved.

“Right.” Kyungsoo rolls his wide eyes. “If you’re fine then I’m a penguin.”

Hyemi looks him up and down, ignoring the urge to hurl out her breakfast. “You do look a little bit like a penguin.” Hyemi points out.

Kyungsoo gives her a look that makes her clamp shut immediately. One, he obviously doesn’t enjoy being compared to cute Antarctic animals (that she figures also exists somewhere in EXO Planet) and, two, she really doesn’t want to puke all over Kyungsoo. His shoes looks new and she really doubts she’ll come out of the situation alive and intact.

They pass by the huge golden doors from long ago, a symbol carved into the doors. Hyemi’s stomach churns at the sight.

An image of a handsome regal man flashes through Hyemi’s mind, eyes dancing enigmatically and grin exactly like Kris’s.

“I always win.”

Hyemi shudders, skin growing cold. Without warning, Hyemi empties her stomach, pain shooting through her head and vision spotting.

~.~.~.~.~

Hyemi wakes up in shivers and grasps at the blankets, trying and failing to make herself warmer.

“Kyungsoo says you owe him big time for ruining his clothes.” Baekhyun’s voice drifts into her ears and she glances around. “Those were new shoes.”

Baekhyun sits at the small wooden chair, a pencil in his hand.

He’s not looking at her and he doesn’t sound warm at all. She wonders if he’s still mad at her. Hyemi stares at him before glancing down at herself. She’s in a pair of soft sweats and a t-shirt and she frowns. She doesn’t remember changing. The last thing she remembers is puking all over Kyungsoo. The thought makes her cringe and she swears to make it up to him later.

“I asked one of the maids to clean you up.” Baekhyun says, offhandedly.

She doesn’t like the idea of a stranger touching her while she’s unconscious but it’s probably a lot better than lying in her own vomit until she regains consciousness. Hyemi cringes at the thought. Hyemi just watches as Baekhyun writes on the stationary.

“What are you doing?”

“Writing a letter.”

“For who?”

He doesn’t answer. The sound of pencil scratching against paper begins to irritate her. The tension in the room begins to build the longer the silence stretches on. Baekhyun doesn’t even bother to look at her.

“Baekhyun.” Hyemi says, softly.

“Yes?” He mutters, unenthusiastically.

She ignores his tone, looking for answers instead. “What happened to Kris’s dad? What happened to the King?”

That seems to make Baekhyun strangely angry because suddenly his head snaps in her direction, expression vehement. “You really need to stop asking so many questions, Hyemi.”

She sits up then, ignoring her lightheadedness. “I’ll stop asking them when you start answering them.” She snaps back, temper blazing.

“I don’t answer them because you won’t like my answers, Hyemi.” Baekhyun retorts, exasperated. “It’s unnecessary pain.”

“You’re not my father, Baekhyun. You’re barely my friend. Who are you to withhold information from me? Especially when it’s about me?” Hyemi practically shouts, angrily. A flurry of emotions passes through Baekhyun’s eyes before they go blank.

Something snaps in his expression and Hyemi wonders if this anger had been building up in him. He’s been on edge since the moment she woke up and she wonders if he’s taking something out on her. Because, at that moment, Baekhyun stands up and fully turns in her direction. He looks defensive and livid.

“The King tried to bring your mother back from Earth.” Baekhyun says, staring at Hyemi with a malicious look she doesn’t like at all. “He finally located her and took an elite group of people with him to bring her back. She didn’t come quietly. She killed half of the elite group and then she tried to kill him.” Baekhyun laughs, humorlessly, shaking his head, his eyes distant. “She did something to his powers. Nobody can figure it out but instead of working externally, they now occur internally. He implodes on a daily basis and the public can’t know because a king is a reflection of its people. If the king is dying then the people will lose hope. Only later did the brotherhood learn that you were there, as a toddler. You were crying and confused and really, no one should blame you. But some people do. You’ll probably even blame yourself. Because you lost control of your powers, Hyemi. You damaged the king. You killed the remaining members of the elite group. And…” Baekhyun opens his mouth, as if he wants to say more, but suddenly all his anger deflates, his eyes searching Hyemi’s shocked expression.

Hyemi’s bottom lip trembles and she stares at him. She killed people, she realizes, blinking quickly. It was an accident but still. She stares at him, expectantly. Maybe it’s a bad idea but she’s stubborn and she doesn’t like the fact that he’s withholding information about her. She wants to know everything, even if she won’t like it. “And what?”

“Hyemi, let it go.” Baekhyun’s voice is ridiculously calm and steady. “Just let it go.”

“And what?” She repeats, voice even louder.

The silence stretches on, both of their eyes locked on each other.

“Tell me.”

Baekhyun sighs and crosses his arms, the distance between them a little strange for her. “The King wanted to bring your mother back alive. It would have ensured a better recovery for the tree and the planet.” He pauses and stares at Hyemi, eyes distant. “You burned down the house and you killed your mother.”

Hyemi blinks, once, twice, three times, before her fingers start trembling.

“It was an accident.”

Hyemi feels strangely drained, an awful numbness spreading through her body. She remembers what Baekhyun had told her before and asks another question. She’s always full of questions. “Who was in the elite group?” Hyemi murmurs, peering up at Baekhyun. Only then does she realize that he’s right in front of her, the distance between them gone.

“I’m not telling you.”

“Why?”

Baekhyun has the audacity to glare at her like she’s causing trouble. He caresses her cheek, before he brushes away the tears wetting her cheeks. She’s shocked to realize that she let her tears fall.

“You’re just full of stupid questions, aren’t you?”

She laughs and it quickly turns into choked sobs. Baekhyun pulls her into his chest, shushing her gently. She doesn’t know why she’s crying so hard, it had been a mistake. She was a baby. But she feels guilty, nonetheless, and she has a feeling that the people in the elite group weren’t just a bunch of strangers. Hyemi clutches Baekhyun around the waist and melts into him, his fingers massaging her back gently.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Baekhyun mumbles against the top of her head.

All Hyemi can think about is how incredibly difficult it’s getting for her to differentiate between what’s her fault and what’s her mother’s fault.

~.~.~.~.~

Hyemi doesn’t fall asleep. She afraid of the dreams that will come out of all this. Instead she remains curled up, her head tucked underneath Baekhyun arm. She rests her forehead against his chest and listens to his heartbeat. It’s strangely slow, like she remembers it. Baekhyun plays with her hair and she sighs, contentedly.

“We found a new person to train you.” Baekhyun interrupts their hours of silence, voice raspy from disuse.

Hyemi looks up at him, expression curious.

“I think you know him.” Baekhyun says, with a thoughtful smile. “It’s Minseok.”

“He’s a convicted criminal.” Hyemi states, voice a little rough. “And you asked him to train me.”

“He won’t kill you.” Baekhyun assures Hyemi. Then he furrows his eyebrows. “I think.”

“Convincing.” Hyemi rolls her eyes.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, mockingly, and Hyemi smacks him.

~.~.~.~.~

The voice floats through her thoughts, coming in and out of focus. A shiver runs down her spine as she waits, expectantly staring out into the darkness.

The darkness flickers before black falls away to crimson red eyes, wide as moons. They stare at her, carefully assessing. They’re calculating. The voice pounds in her head, overwhelming her.

“You’ve stopped running, haven’t you, darling?”

Hyemi nods, slowly, hesitantly.

“Does it make you feel brave?”

Hyemi flinches at the anger consuming the voice. She’s burning up on the inside, chest heaving.

“Do you feel strong when you confront us?”

It’s looking for a response, Hyemi realizes. So she nods, slowly, hesitantly.  

“Stupid little girl.” The voice reprimands. The eyes begin to drip, crimson falling and spilling, pooling at Hyemi’s bare feet. She can feel the warmth of it and she shivers, the metallic smell of blood invading her senses. The world is doused in white and the voice rings in her ears. “We’ll be there soon. We’ll have you begging for mercy.”

Hyemi feels a familiar hand wrap around her ankles and yank her down. She’s being pulled through the ground until she’s neck deep in warm blood, grip on her ankles like steel. She tries to stay above the surface, but she’s jerked down with so much force that she screams, blood filling , her lungs. She chokes on it, but she can’t escape. She just falls deeper and deeper.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Hyemi’s lungs burn and she has no way to inhale oxygen. The metallic taste and smell of blood overpowers her senses.

“Don't worry. We’ll be there soon.”

a/n:

The map is pretty much the Marauder's Map I wanted to reference harry potter, I miss harry potter.

Anyways, I've decided this isn't going to be too long but it's not going to be really short either. There's a lot of things I've got up my sleeve and I'm excited to share it tbh!!

I just wanted to thank all the people who've subscribed to this story because there was a sudden influx of you guys and woah!! I wasn't expecting this at all!! I hope I don't disappoint any of you and I'm glad you enjoy my ridiculously angsty- fluffy stories omg.

Please let me know what you thought down below it'd be very appreciated! 

xoxo