Sheet 16

The Doll

         

          A plethora of birds flies out of the vast forest, Sung Gyu groans from where he is lying at the forest floor. He miscalculated again. He was supposed to land at his assigned room inside the castle, it’s not a surprise since he’s been very distracted lately.

 

          If you were given a vaguely incoherent list of people and suspicious goings on inside a castle you never really have time to be familiar with through a book titled inappropriately, you’d definitely be distracted.

 

          He was thankful for the help that he got from his Narra though his amusement is soon replaced with annoyance as soon as he figured out that: 1. She decided to write alone 2. She used magic without consulting him 3. She didn’t list down all the people that are supposedly helping her and 4. She probably figured out half of the things he’s been struggling to figure out for a month in a span of a week.

 

          Another thing he needs to figure out is the spy called “The Doll”, anyone who calls themselves by that name clearly wishes to be a puppet. He hopes they’ve written enough to keep the story going into the direction that they needed it to go.

 

          He believes his Narra, he knows that she wouldn’t turn her back on her promise. Kim Sung Gyu knows that he was given an opening; all he needed to do is follow through.

 

          First things first though, he needs to get out of this forest. It’s too bad because he’s really not good at directions. He hasn’t ventured this far into the forest, he actually doesn’t remember ever going into these parts or that these parts actually exist.

 

          He just needs to rely on instinct now.

 

~0~

 

          It’s a comical tableau of two people inside a white room staring at each other. The boy lazily standing by the door, a playful smile on his face; the girl sitting straight on a bed glaring at the other.

 

          “Lee Soo Jung, right?”

 

          “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

 

          “I do believe introductions aren’t necessary. I heard you were very clever, I’m sure you’ve figured out the answers to your questions by now...”

 

          She has a very different prospect of being held captive and this isn’t one of them. She’s in a very modern room, sitting on a bed; not shackled. The room doesn’t seem to be a prison. To tell the truth it looks more like her dorm room at university. This person wants her to be comfortable; instinct tells her she’s being detained for that one specific reason.

 

          “You’ve figured it out. That’s nice...” He approaches her slowly, half bows to level his face to hers once he’s close enough. “I want you to feel at ease here but not too comfortable to think I’ll let you off easy. I have every intention to win this time; you are going to give me that victory.”

 

         
          “What makes you think I’ll write for you?”

 

          He straightens up, smiles evilly at her, “Oh you will. And I won’t need to do anything. You will destroy the world you created on your own. You’re my Narra now...”

 

          “You wish.”

 

          “It’s already been granted.” He bows and exists.

 

           The door blends perfectly with the wall that no one would have an idea that there was an exit.

 

           Lee Soo Jung takes deep breaths to calm herself. She doubts she could just walk to that door and leave. The room has the basic things she would need to write, an assortment of pens are organized on the far side of the table and so are really expensive looking sheets of writing paper. For sure, he made preparations a long time ago. This room isn’t specifically made for her. It’s a discrete cage for Narras.

 

            She just hopes Sung Gyu figured out her message. The people she wrote in the book have been sending her clues only for a short while. She figured the princess would have a need for companions so she decided she’d send them now.

 

             Once they come face to face with Sung Gyu they’ll automatically disappear and the story would reset. No one would even remember them. She found out that there is a way to reverse stories in the journal that Sung Gyu’s grandmother passed on to her. It was a book Narras commonly used for emergencies. It’s very interesting magic, with a very apt title.

           

          She could just stay here and wait it out. She doesn’t have any obligations to write for this person. Or she could use this opportunity to find the princess. She’d definitely be here. Soo Jung just needs to figure out how to get out of her prison.

 

          She takes out a few sheets of parchment from her jean pocket, tearing out a small piece. She needs to send out a message. Sitting at the writing table, she makes sure she’s got all her bases covered.

 

          She just managed to finish writing when she smells a sugary sweet scent. It reminds her of trips to the candy store with her parents when she was a little girl. She’s always been overly fond of it that her Dad makes sure to bring her a new kind of sweet every time he comes back from his travels.

 

          Soo Jung soon outgrew her sweet and this scent is bringing back very pleasant memories. The urge to stay here forever grows strong and the urge to lie down too. There’s something happening to her that she doesn’t understand; the scent. It’s making her dizzy.

 

          She shakes her head to clear it from memories, there’s a different scent now, one that makes her head pound. She needs to—

 

~0~

 

          “Slumped on the desk, asleep, I’m sure it would be painful.” The Doll looks at her companion busy eating ramen as if nothing of importance is happening. “Don’t you think it’s too much?”

 

          He scoffs. “That person’s mind is hard to manipulate, this isn’t too much...”

 

          She observes the girl slumped on the desk, face in pain. She doesn’t think anyone would want to sleep with past memories haunting them. She herself wouldn’t want it.

 

          “Have everyone ready, we’re starting Phase 2 as soon as our Narra wakes up.”

 

          “The Protos returned yesterday, I’ve asked someone to come get him for you.”

 

          “Not yet...” Looking at his doll, he thinks how easily people can be manipulated. They’re like open books, all you need to do is read. “I want to play with them still...”

 

          At this point, only a fool would be dim enough not to be scared.

 

          “Welcome him for me, will you?”

 

          She bows, of course. She’s always done as she was told.

 

~0~

         

          He arrives at the palace filthy, with twigs and leaves and other things he’s not able to figure out sticking to him. It’s a good thing one of the castle guards found him while patrolling. He’d probably roam the entire kingdom for days, he doesn’t like the idea.

 

          “Lady Ji Ae... What are you doing outside the castle?”

 

          “I heard Lord Sung Gyu was found wandering the forest. It’s not very advisable especially this late...”

 

          “I know... I appreciate your concern though... Can I have an audience with the prince regardless of how shabby I look; It’s very important.”

 

          “I’ll walk you...”

 

          “Ermm.. No... I mean, I’m perfectly fine on my own. I know the palace better than the forest. Thank you though. Bye...”

 

          Kim Sung Gyu’s relieved to have gotten away from the lady-in-waiting. She gives him the creeps for no apparent reason. Maybe because her face looks blank all the time, smiling must not be her habit.

 

          And he’s got other things to look out for other than the prince. Remembering the staff wouldn’t be hard, he’s been in and out of the castle several times to memorize faces. He just needs to look out for new faces, easier said than done.

 

          He sighs, as much as he wants to look for Soo Jung, her instructions clearly indicate he finds her spies. His grandmother promised to look for the Narra in his behalf. The important thing now is, first to find the spies and then this Doll that they’re writing about.

 

          The third corridor of the west wing is where the ladies-in-waiting usually reside. He wonders if he’d be able to find anyone considering all the corridors he’s gone into is empty. Where are all these supposed ladies-in-waiting?

 

          “Excuse me?”

 

          Finally, a living person. “I was—“

 

          “The books that I read have a life of its own; they are alive.”

 

          “What the...” The lady in front of him isn’t familiar, she smiles too much. None of the ladies-in-waiting or staff smiles this much. “Are you...”

 

          “There are four of us ladies-in-waiting left; one has already sent a message. That’s Lady Ji Won, I’m sent here to oversee everything so I won’t disappear until you’ve made what Lady Soo Jung thinks is progress.”

 

          “Wow, what confidence she has in me...”

         

          “I think it’s quite understandable. Considering there are people around we can’t trust.”

 

          He can’t hide how offended he is of the statement. But everything this lady says makes sense. “Where can I find the others?”

 

          “They’re all over the castle. You’ll be able to meet them once they get enough information.”

 

          “How can I be sure she’s—“

 

          “And he. You’ll know. They’ll tell you...”

 

          He’s trying hard not to look frustrated. It’s his book too, being clueless like this makes him feel useless.

 

          “Here...” The lady presents him with a paper crane. “It’s how we send messages. This one is from your Narra.”

 

          Hearing those last two words makes him feel relieved. He still have a lot of things to do, the prince needs to be informed. “I’m—“

 

          The lady he was talking with prior just all of a sudden disappeared. He finds everything creepy now, is he working with ghosts now? He unfolds the paper crane, there’s definitely a message inside. She always leaves messages.

 

Trust me. No matter what happens.

/Find a lady-in-waiting named Ye In, she has the doll/

 

          The game is just starting, he’s still in the playing field. Lee Soo Jung’s been working hard on his behalf, what else can he do but to trust her. The message is vague; she must know something that he doesn’t. He suddenly feels something ominous is about to happen.