Leaning against the side of the bed while watching the fire that flickers on the torches. Such fascinating mix of red, orange and yellow. How could something so beautiful could be so dangerous at the same time? She thought of it in her head while she sits and stares at them the entire time until someone comes into the room. She turns her attention to the door and stands up in an instant.

"Kai," she approaches him but takes a step back when she remembers the invisible wall. She looks down at her hands where the cuffs are and heaves a sigh.

"My father thinks that this is the only way. Keeping me locked up again," she whispers the last part. She raises her eyes and sees him staring at her. What bothers her is that it feels as if he is looking straight through her. The look that he is giving is completely unreadable.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" she frowns. After what seems like forever, he shuts his eyes and exhales.

"I'd just got news from Lay. The town was almost completely destroyed and although we managed to salvage most of the people and placed them somewhere safe temporarily until we could think of what to do with them but there were some who weren't so lucky," he says sternly. She chokes on her breath and tries to maintain her composure. She runs her hands through her hair in frustration.

"How many?" she asks while facing away from him. She doesn't really want to know the answer but she needs to. The guilt is starting to eat her alive. She could hear him exhaling from behind her. She braces herself for his responds.

"132 injured, 57 dead," he replies in a monotone. She has stopped breathing and suddenly feels like she's going to vomit. She clench her stomach and beads of sweat are starting to trickle down from the hairline of her forehead. She grabs onto something sturdy to help her keep her balance. I did that. I killed those people, she thinks to herself.

She slowly turns around and he is looking away from her. She could sense it from the thin lines that are formed on his forehead and how his jaw is clenched. There's something else that he's not telling her.

"Tell me. Is there something else?" she asks. He looks up at her and his lips form a thin line. She could feel the intensity between them and it's starting to make her feel uneasy.

"Raina, my priority is to keep everyone safe from harm. By any means necessary. That has been our duty for the past centuries. And being one of the 12 Guards I am also required to make sacrifices even if I don't want to. But it has to be done," he responds. She looks at him, confused as to what he is trying to say.

"I don't understand," she says as she walks closer. He shakes his head and looks her in the eyes. She's starting to feel anxious and her heart is thundering against her ribcage. She swallows what feels like a hard rock in .

"We can't be together, Raina. I'm sorry," he finally says it. Tears shed from her eyes and she is lost in words. She feels an unbearable pain inside her chest. She could hardly breathe.

She's about to say something but before she could he has already left the room and didn't look back. She falls on her knees as the door shuts behind him. She holds her hand against her chest and prays that the pain would go away. She has started to sob and there she lays on the floor. Curled up into a ball as tears run down from her eyes.

 All her life, she has never felt so broken. It feels as if her soul had just been ripped out of her and at some point she is actually wishing for it to happen. There are just so many things that are happening around her all at once and she is confused as to how and why it happened. She feels so worthless. So lost.

"Why? Why? Why?!" she slams her fist on the floor as she screams the last part. She stays like that until she falls into a deep sleep on the cold hard surface. Throughout the night, she is accompanied by nothing but nightmares and tears.

The next morning comes faster than she had imagined and she kept wishing what happened yesterday was just one of her bad dreams. But life can't always be fair. Just when she thought that it couldn't get any worse, her father had surprised her with more news of her leaving with L to start on with a proper training. And to top it off, he even mentioned something that she had never expected of.

"He's my what?" she half yells. He looks at her and calmly explains about her betrothal. After listening to what her father has to say, she sits down and tries to absorb all the new information. As she does, her father continues to persuade her to go with L. This is her life. Having people decide things for her. She wishes that she could get used to it but she's not and she never will.

"Raina, I know this is a lot to take in for you. But you have to trust that everything I do all these years, it is for your own benefit. Please. Just go with him. If not for my sake, then do it for our people. They need you, Raina. They need their Guardian," he says.

What happens if I do go? Will I really be stronger? Can they still trust me after what I have done? I can't take any risk if it happens again. I can't afford it if another life is taken away because of me. I need to learn. I need to be stronger. But is me leaving really the answer?, she thinks to herself.

She looks down at her hands and the cuffs are still there. She frowns at the sight of them. She wouldn't have to wear them. Heck. She wouldn't have to be locked up to begin with. Maybe she really does need this. If it could change things around. She's willing to try.

"Okay," she finally says. "But I want to do something before I go."

"All right then. As you wish," he replies.

"We don't always let people come here. But you've grown to be an exception," Baekhyun says as they walk through the dark tunnel. She follows him from behind as he shines the way with the light from his palm. She is silent the whole way. He did try to make small talks with her to lighten up the mood before but then he quickly realized that she didn't really feel like talking so he decided to just keep quiet.

"We're here," he says as they come upon the arch doors. "Take all the time you need, Your Highness," he says as he opens the doors for her. She nods him a thank you and walks in.

"Oh, and umm... Your Highness?" he calls out to her. She stops in her track and turns to face him.

"I'm sorry to hear that you have to leave. My best wishes for you, Your Grace," he says with a sweet smile. But even with his expression, she could see what he actually feels for her. He feels bad for her and she couldn't help but to feel bad for herself too. She smiles back and thanks him before continuing her steps.

It is exactly the same as the last time she came there. She keeps on walking until she reaches the root of the majestic tree. She looks up at the tree and takes in a deep breath. She places her hand on the bark and her thought is slowly consumed by white.

"Here," L hands her a marble and she eyes it suspiciously. She looks up at him in confusion. "You throw it hard onto the ground and a portal will appear," he explains. forms the shape of an 'O' and she nods in understanding.

She turns as soon as she feels a hand on her shoulder. Right in front of her stands Stella who has been crying all day long. She smiles and wipes away her tears.

"Please take care of yourself. I'm gonna miss you," Stella says while giving her a tight embrace. She giggles at her friend's dramatic act but hugs her back. "I will. I'll come back soon. I promise," she says. Stella finally lets her go and wipes her own tears with the back of her hand.

She looks around and says her goodbyes to everyone else except one. Kai. She hasn't seen him since he broke up with her. But somehow she's glad that he isn't there. She couldn't think of what might happen if he is. She walks back to L and in his hand he has a marble of his own.

"I've already put an enchantment on the marbles so that we can get to where we're headed. All you have to do is throw it on the ground and jump inside the portal," he tells her the steps. She nods her head in understanding. He's the first to throw the marble and gone inside the portal in a split second.

She turns her head to her friends and mouths her final goodbye before she throws the marble on the ground and disappears into the portal. She feels a pain in her chest as she steps inside it. The last thing she hears after she goes through the portal is a wolf's howl.

How are my beautiful readers today? Anything interesting happened that you want share? Leave a comment. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

XOXO

EXOWENDY88