Assessment: Start.

  Facts.

  I’m in the Southern Commonwealth. I am in the manor of the Duke of the Southern Commonwealth. It is Day Four since I have awoken in Duke Do Kyungsoo’s guest room.

  I have run away from home.

  I remember everything until the day I winded up here. I remember waking up before sunrise, just like every day; I remember being the one to throw the bucket of water on Jungkook this time. I remember walking to the first training of the day, waiting for it to end already so I could eat breakfast. I rememeber the grey stone hallways, the grunts and sounds of punches being delivered.

  Then… nothing.

  Then I woke up here.

  With flashes of a forest. Most likely the forest south of Magus, closest to the Southern Commonwealth. Most likely the one stretched so far its ends end up here, behind Do Kyungsoo’s manor. And images of the trees rushing by, as I if I had been running.

  Do Kyungsoo is hiding a person from the world, a person who is known to be dead. Do Kyungsoo is hiding Kim Junmyeon.

  Motives.

  I am staying here instead of going back and finding out who cast a Spell on me, or Bound one on me without a trace of their own fingerprints; very clever.

  I am staying here because I remember my undergoing secret plan I had behind the Commander’s back; the plan no one knew, not even Jungkook.

  I am staying here to understand more about the Stargazers, to assess their abilities and knowledge of others around them, like us Spellbinders.

  I am staying here because I have an opportunity to save them. Maybe with other people’s help, people who have power and resources to stop the Commander. People who will hopefully believe me.

  I am staying here because my species might have had something to do with the revival of Kim Junmyeon.

  “This is a bad idea.”

  “A terrible idea, I must agree.”

  A chucked piece of fabric flew across the room and before he could duck, hit Junmyeon square in the face. “Kim Junmyeon!”

  He laughed as he took the silver piece of linen into his hands. “Keira,” he said, “you’re merely over-nerving yourself. It’s just a ball – “

  “But I’ve never been to a ball before,” Keira told him as she looked into the mirror for the thousandth time that day. “What do I say to everybody to not come off impolite? How do I greet noble people? What do I do? Where do I go if I just want to eat the food? Is it okay if I just go straight for the food? How do I politely say ‘No I don’t want to talk to you’? Even my curtsies are weird! I think! And my dress, oh mother of earth, my dress,” she looked at her reflection in front of her for the thousand and second time. “It’s so…”

  She hadn’t noticed Junmyeon had walked up to her, a mere two footsteps behind her back, standing by the seamstress who was pinning the last few parts of her dress that had started off as just a huge piece of silver fabric wrapped around her merely three hours ago.

  “Beautiful,” Junmyeon finished for her, his voice low, his gaze staring over her bare shoulder and into the mirror. “You look beautiful, Keira.”

  A blush emerged onto her face, something that rarely happened to her, even rather than getting kicked by another opponent at practice. “T-thank you, I guess…” she looked at the Junmyeon in the full-sized mirror. “I’m sorry you can’t come.”

  He smiled, shaking his head. “I have no desire to attend a ball whatsoever; I tend to stay away from… loud places. However,” he said, “I am very glad Kyungsoo decided to let you go with him. It is… something he has never done before.”

  “He’s never gone to a ball with a girl who threw a fork at him?”

  Junmyeon’s laughter echoed through the guest room, and Keira saw a smile also grow on the seamstress’s face. He had that ability: to make people feel calm and warm with his presence, his smile, his laughter.

  “Yes, yes, something like that,” Junmyeon agreed as his laughter subsided. “Something like that.”

  He didn’t say anything more; he just stared at the Keira in the mirror, the Keira standing in her gown as silver as a million glinting swords. It was strapless, with a tiny line of grey-green that reminded her of the forest she loved running in across the top line and behind, down the back that ended as spirals scattered around, like a dozen exploding stars. Her bare shoulders were covered by her hair she had reluctantly let down from her ponytail and let its dark-brown curls compliment her gown, her gown that seemed to glitter with just the right amount and angle of light kissing it. The hem, blanketed with a thin piece of lace because she did not want to seem to be dressed over-the-top, barely grazed the floor, hiding her boots underneath.

  It was her first time wearing something that did not include pants, and also the first in ages she had let her hair down in public; it was already a bit too much for her that if she were also forced to wear heels, she wouldn’t be able to take it anymore. It was a very new experience, but also scary and strange. So her comfortable boots stayed.

  At some time, the seamstress had finished her job and stepped away from Keira. At some time, Junmyeon had eaten up the space between them, and was standing just a breath behind her back.

  “If you’ll allow me,” he whispered, his gaze never leaving hers in the mirror, “I can show you how to curtsy.”

  Unconsciously, her breathing quickened. She was shaking, she realized; and she was feeling warmer and warmer by the second. She needed to do something. Say something.

  “Show me,” she whispered back.

  Around her from behind, slowly, Junmyeon’s hands covered hers and lead them up, trailing against her gown, to a place near her hipbone, a little on the backside. His breathing mirrored Keira’s: quick and shallow, his posture stiff. “Grab both sides of your skirt here,” he said, gently curling her hands around fabric with his. “Lift them up slightly,” he lifted her curled hands up just by a little bit, “put your right foot a little behind your left," he waited until he heard the sound of fabric against floor to confirm she had moved her foot, "and… bend your knees,” he finished.

  In a smooth move she bent her knees, secretly surprising her because she had thought she would be awkward at this new position, but either her flexibility, or merely Junmyeon’s voice, made her do the impossible.

  A curtsy.

  “See?” Junmyeon’s voice snapped her back to reality, to the present where she was dipped in a curtsy, and Junmyeon’s body warmth was making her skin tingle. “Now you do know how to curtsy. Perfectly, too.”

  Slowly, she returned to her usual height. But when she did that, she came back close to Junmyeon, and she could feel his hot breath grazing her bare shoulder, sending tingles down to her stomach.

  She couldn’t move. An inch backward, her back would touch his chest; an inch forward, she would fall off the small platform she was standing on and smack right into the mirrors in front. In the mirror Junmyeon’s eyes were different now; they weren’t as clear as before, and he looked like he was shaking, too –

  A knock on the door shattered the tense moment.

  As the seamstress went over to open the door, his gaze never leaving hers, Junmyeon took a step back from Keira.

  But just a step back.

  Keira heard Kyungsoo’s voice; it drifted in and suddenly made her so alert at her surroundings. “Is she done?” She heard Kyungsoo ask.

  “Yes, my lord,” the seamstress answered. “The lady is ready.”

  A few muffled words and the seamstress left, leaving Kyungsoo with no choice but to walk in – and halt.

  He didn’t speak; he just stared. At Junmyeon standing behind Keira. He knew she had asked Junmyeon an hour ago to accompany her for advice since she felt more comfortable with him, but it was still very unfamiliar for Kyungsoo to see him there, with someone else. With Keira.

  And when Keira turned to face him, he momentarily thought he couldn’t breathe.

  He didn’t breathe.

  Kyungsoo still remembered the first time he had seen Keira.

  Or to be more specific, the first time he had seen her awake.

  He remembered the way he had meant to walk to the side of her bed to put the wet cloth on her forehead, but panicked when realizing she was awake and active and threw it to her instead; he remembered the way her eyes widened at the slight attack, and how she had looked up at him.

  He remembered the way her eyes caught him completely off guard, her irises a mixture of grey and silver; as grey as a stormy sky and as silver as pure, mesmerizing silver can be. Like melting snow; like a faraway land that held majestic surroundings, a place full of wonder.

  He remembered how her hair that seemed dark-brown glowed red in the sunlight pouring into the room.

  He'd never forget.

  What made Keira turn around to face Kyungsoo, she didn’t know. But she had heard his footsteps and wanted to leave behind that confusing… moment she had with Junmyeon, so she just turned around to her left and stepped off the tiny platform, to face Kyungsoo.

  He wasn’t wearing a drastically different outfit than his usual ones; the black-velvet doublet he was wearing was just more tinted with lavender-blue in a few spots, and his hair was less-ruffled, as if he had actually picked up a comb and brushed through it a few times.

  “I-I’m, uhm, yeah,” Keira said, not understanding the way Kyungsoo was looking at her. “How do I look?” She asked, a bit self-conscious.

  Wait, why do I even care for his opinion?

  As if turning off a switch, Kyungsoo stiffened himself. “Ready,” he replied, rather without any emotion. “The carriage is waiting; we must go now.” Then with a nod toward Junmyeon, he turned and left.

  Despite the outfit, Keira rolled her eyes rather un-ladylike. “So much for being a gentleman,” she mumbled under her breath.

  Junmyeon breathed out a gentle chuckle, hitting into Keira the realization that for a moment there, she had forgotten he was still standing beside her. Turning to him with concern, she asked again, “Are you sure you’re okay with us going without you?”

  He smiled, put his hands gently on her shoulders, and turned her towards the door. His previous different, unexplainable demeanor had disappeared. “I am very sure, Keira. Now go, and enjoy yourself!”

  Keira had finished telling Kyungsoo what she had told Junmyeon in the library before they reached the castle.

  Kyungsoo had done nothing but frown and cross his arms when she had talked, and it was getting onto Keira’s nerves, although she had no idea why.

  “And then Junmyeon said you've known Park Chanyeol since childhood – “

  He finally talked. “Why didn’t you tell Junmeyon about the Spellbinders?”

  Keira stopped. “How did you know – “

  “You told me, but not him. Why?” Kyungsoo asked again.

  Studying him, she let out a frustrated groan. “You really can see through everything right to the point, can you?”

  “I’m good at reading people,” he agreed. “Because of…” he let his sentence trail off.

  Junmyeon, she finished for him in her mind; they both knew it was because of him. Kyungsoo had always been on alert when talking to others because he was afraid someone would find out about his secret.

  “Yes, I didn’t tell him,” Keira sighed. “Because… because you told me about the golden light that had brought him back to life, and – “

  “You know something about it,” Kyungsoo concluded, sitting up straighter on his seat across from hers. “You do, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do, but it’s not – “

  “Do you know what kind of magic it was? Who could’ve done it? Was it the same kind like the green light those bandits used when trying to take you? Is he – stars,” he sat back, realization hitting him hard. “The person who brought him back to life was a Spellbinder. The people who were trying to take you back were probably Spellbinders, too.”

  Keira’s mind was wheeling. She hadn’t even told him what Spellbinders can do, and he’s assumed that much already? “What green light?”

  Kyungsoo looked at her as if she were asking why he had branches sticking out of his head. “The green, blinding light those people attacked us with when we were saving you. I assumed Junmyeon told you this.”

  “No, he didn’t. He didn’t say anything about – no,” she couldn’t believe what her mind was telling her, but it made sense. It would also explain the Spell on her memories, if she let it be true.

  The person who put this Spell on me wanted to take me back.

  “Are you certain it was a ball of emerald light that hit you?" She asked. "Or did it just explode in the person’s hands?”

  “It exploded in his hands, and when I opened my eyes again they were all gone – “

  “What color was the mask the person was wearing?”

  “Red,” a confused Kyungsoo replied. “Wine-red, the only person not wearing a black mask and was holding the green li – “

  “Emerald,” Keira corrected him. “It’s emerald, not green. There's a big difference. And that guy… .”

  She would’ve laughed at Kyungsoo’s wide eyes at her choice of word, but she was too busy in her thoughts she didn’t.

  It’s him. It must be. No one else has a mask that color… but why? Why would he try so hard to get me back?

  The carriage came to a stop, and despite the thoughts she was having, panic settled in. Confusion still clouded Kyungsoo's eyes, but the sudden stoic look on his face told her that they would continue talking about this later. Because they had reached their destination.

  The door opened, revealing a guard’s bearded face. He obviously knew who Kyungsoo was, but if he was surprised, he didn't show it.

  “Welcome to the palace, my Lord.”

  “Thank you,” Kyungsoo replied as he stepped out, motioning back to Keira to hold on to him. She did as Kyungsoo had previously taught her before they left, her hand hooking around his extended arm as she stepped out of the carriage, but she did so slowly, because she was staring at the palace looming before her with amazement and fear, and was shaking even if she didn’t notice it.

  Keira's legs wobbled when her feet touched castle ground. A part of her wanted to say she couldn’t do it. A part of her wanted to say this was the wrong thing to do, coming to a royal ball, and just wanted to go back home.

  But what home? Kyungsoo’s manor? That wasn’t her home. Her home was possibly a thousand miles away, with a father most likely wanting to murder her for her absence, and a friend who was most likely doing better without her.

  And she wasn’t the giving up type. She never, ever once on her lifetime, gave up on anything.

  But this was something so different, she thought as they started ascending the cobblestone steps to the front doors of the palace, two guards on the sides of the doors that seemed to be staring at her and not staring at her at the same time. This was a totally different world she had been into.

  When they had reached the top step, Keira stopped. “Wait," she whispered.

  Startled, Kyungsoo turned around. “Keira?” He asked, confused.

  “I…” she tried to form words. “I can’t… I don’t…”

  She’s nervous and scared, Kyungsoo realized.

  “I don’t know how – “

  Kyungsoo took a step toward her, their bodies only a fist apart. Keira saw the hesitation in his eyes and the way his lips turned into a tight line. Was he going to tell her he regretted taking her? Was he going to call the whole thing off and leave?

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he said, his eyes searching hers. “Your gown compliments your eyes.”

  Keira’s lips parted, then closed. Of everything in the world, she never expected him to say that, and although the timing was kind of awkward, she was utterly shocked.

  “That…” she tried to understand why he said something so… nice to her, when all he ever did was frown at her and be rude. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  A muscle in his jaw flinched, but he didn’t frown, or scowl, or back away. “I know you’re nervous, Keira – “

  “So are you; I guess you’ve never made a public appearance in almost a decade – “

  “That’s why we are helping each other out here,” Kyungsoo said. “You were right; I need to do this, sooner or later. I need to start showing up in public or one day the talk among people will spiral out of control; and you said you needed to talk to Chanyeol. Therefore,” gently, awkwardly, he patted Keira’s hand hooked around his arm. “We are in this together. If you back out of this right now, so will I. If you go on, so will I. But if what you’re saying is true, that there is something going on in your city that concerns my country – my friend’s country, then I am willing to take this risk. And you can do this, Keira; I know you can. Because you are a fighter in the heart.”

  At some time, Keira’s heart had stopped beating at Kyungsoo’s words. She never thought him to be a talker, moreover a person who could say such inspiring, moving, heart-warming words. But here he was, telling her indirectly that even though he had spent almost half of his life hiding, he loved his country. He loved his friends and the people he cared about. And if Keira could help in any way, even if it meant striding into a terrifying ball, she would.

  Because the person in front of her still cared for what he cared for. And he believed in her strength.

  Straightening her back, Keira stared right back into Kyungsoo’s eyes as she felt a surge of courage. “Let’s go,” she said.

[A/N] How did all of your Valentine's Day go? I hope it went well! Like my friend, omg, her boyfriend surprised her (he lives a seven-hour drive away) and it was so sweet omgggggggg /squeals/

So... /clears throat/ I don't think anyone's ever said there can't be some action at a ball... /coughs coughs/