Seven

I know that Sehun is supposed to know my whereabouts, but I’m sure a few minutes out won’t hurt anyone. I just need to get out for a bit. Besides, I need to know about the different rooms in the castle if I’m going to be stuck here don’t I? There is no use in just sitting around here when I have an entire castle surrounding me.

Leaving the book full of pictures under my bed, and the other two on the table, I run into my walk in closet for something new to wear around the house. While the white pullover is cute, I’d like to not have my underwear on display for the entire castle to see. People are perverts, and I’d love to avoid being the focus of their gross thoughts.

Men and women alike.

I find a bright yellow sweatshirt that is long enough to be a dress and a simple pair of black leggings. I drop my night clothes on the ground, and trod back out to the main part of my room. Slipping on my slippers, I sneak out of my room. Taking in a few breaths to keep my mind from wandering back to the book, I make my way away from my door. The hallway is empty aside from the decorations and doors that lead to other rooms. It feels as though the entire place is empty except for me, and that does nothing to make me feel any more at ease. I purse my lips and start to explore on my own.

I know that the castle has at least 3 floors. The first has that room where I encountered the other human girls, the second has the kitchen and the dining hall, and the third has various bedrooms including my own and Queen Yongsun’s. I don’t know what else this place has, but what I’ve seen can’t be all of it. The castle is big enough to be a small city in itself. I know there has to be more.

I travel down both sets of stairs all the way to the first floor. Unlike my first time here, the huge front door is locked shut. The 8 women from before are no longer there, in their place are 10 men in similar purple protective clothing. The men block the front door with emotionless faces; none of them even glance at me to acknowledge my existence. Charmer guards maybe? At the very bottom I wander around to the area behind the stairs.

5 long and wide hallways.

I know the middle leads to the decision room from before. I walk down the hall furthest left and stare at the walls and decorations in wonder. Just one of these things probably costs more than my soul. I resist the urge to touch any of the pottery and decorations. Even the couches that are placed along the walls at random places seem entirely too expensive for me to sit on. The hall spreads off into other smaller halls, but in order to avoid getting lost, I follow this larger one to it’s very end. This one leads to a wide glass door. I settle for looking out the glass in fear of accidently setting off an alarm or something by opening the door.

It’s the garden that I’ve been looking out at from above for so long. I can see a path lined with flowers, but it opens up to the larger whole. I can’t see much from this spot, but I’m not going to go mosey out there all by myself.

I don’t know what’s waiting out there. It might be morning, but I’m an easy target. I’m not an idiot. I’ll go out there another day when I’m not walking around alone. I turn on my heel and head towards the second hallway. I’m surprised to find what looks like a spa through the hall’s largest doors. It’s clean and smells of various fragrances even just at the entrance.

The lights are warm and the air feels clean. There are multiple women just walking around and talking to one another in this lounge. They all seem so carefree and happy being around one another. I see no Charmers, and I wonder if this is normal for them. Being so pleasant when amongst those like them. I don’t even fully walk in to the lounge of the spa, but frowns and uncomfortable glances are thrown my way, so I know they don’t want me in here. I walk right back out.

I’m not wanted here. Noted.

I skip the third hall and go to the fourth. The smell of chlorine immediately invades my senses, and I smell the pool before I actually see it. A few Charmers are milling around cleaning up the area. They all have on black shorts and white aprons with no shirts. A strange uniform, but the Gaia are fucking weird so I can’t say I’m shocked at the outfits. They are the ‘maids’ after all.

The pool is bigger than any body of water that I’ve ever personally seen. A large glass wall allows for the area to be illuminated by the natural sunlight from outside. Another pool sits directly outside. 2 extremely large pools, going entirely unused.

What a waste of water.

I carefully leave the swimming area so that I don’t slip in and drown. I can’t swim worth shit, and if I fall in, well I’d just let the water swallow me down.

The last hall is darker than the rest and gives off a dark vibe. The eerie feeling only intensifies as I walk passed thick wooden doors towards its end. I try the handles of the doors that line the walls only to find them locked. Not shocked. It seems as though this hall is meant to ward off snooping people like myself, but it isn’t doing a good enough job. If anything it only makes me more curious (especially after seeing those awful images). There can’t be anything good, but the masochist in me wants to know of the bad contained in the rooms.

I come to the end of the hallway and stand in front a door thicker and larger than the rest. The handle is made of cast iron and it almost visibly radiates a threatening aura. I press my palm on the scratched wood and wrap my other hand around it’s handle. The door opens ever so slightly at the pressure. The only unlocked door on the hall is the biggest and scariest.

That’s not suspicious at all.

Unlike the rest of the house, the only thing lighting this thin hall behind the door are thick lit torches. What is this? The medieval times?

The stone of the walls makes the hallway cold, and I think I hear what sounds like muffled shouting from its depths. A gust of wind blows from inside and I gasp as the torch lights wane and almost go out entirely. I slam the door.

Nope.

Not today Satan.

I take quick steps away from this hall and only stop when I’m halfway up the first floor’s stairs.

I move to the rail as a Gaia walks down with her Charmer in tow. I take in a few short breaths to calm my heart. Maybe that was the place the Queen doesn’t want me to go down. A shiver goes down my spine. The images that I found in my room flash in my mind.

I hope that isn’t the dungeon where that all happened, but I know in the back of my mind that it is. I shakily walk back up the stairs and puff out my cheeks. I just keep running into dark parts of the castle today don’t I? But I can’t blame anyone but myself for that mistake.

I walk down the first hall of the second floor and am surprised to find it nearly abandoned. It appears to be mainly a gym area. Workout equipment. A tennis court, 2 basketball courts, a track surrounds a room that looks like an indoor soccer field. I don’t know if no one uses this part of the 2nd floor, or if it’s just been unfound by most of the castle’s population. “It was kind of out of the way…I wouldn’t be surprised if no one has wandered this far on this floor.” I muse to myself. But everyone is weirdly in shape for people who don’t seem to use the workout area.

I trace my steps back out of the gym area and to the next hall.

A large entertainment room. Flat screens all over the place. A pool table, couches of various sizes, a foosball table, air hockey, arcade games. What is this? A teenager’s wet dream?

On a different side of the room is a large stage. Three mic stands are on top of the stage, and a piano waits idly behind them. Are there performances in this room? I wonder what kind of things occur on this stage.

Knowing how things here have been going so far, I can only guess it isn’t a casual performance that happens every now and then.

The third hallway leads to a ballroom that is bigger than the one downstairs. An enormous diamond chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and I make sure to avoid standing directly under it. If that falls on me, I would probably die instantly. The room is entirely empty at the moment, and I feel immensely small in here all alone. Each step I take inside of the grandiose room bounces off the walls loudly. A large golden chair with a red cushion sits at the back of the room with other smaller ones at its sides. I wonder if the parties that are held at the castle are held here in this room.

I can imagine where the food would be set up. I can almost see all of the dancing women with their Charmers at their sides. I can nearly hear the music filling the room. I cringe at the realization that I will most likely have to attend one of the stuffy parties sooner or later. How does a human even behave at a big Gaia ball?

The fourth hallway only leads to the dining room and the kitchen. The kitchen really must be huge behind that first part that I’ve seen. I peek in and catch a glimpse of Minseok with another boy. They both appear busy making lunch or maybe even snacks. Minseok is whispering to the other short boy who looks battered. I can clearly see a few purple bruises on his face, and his plump lips are busted at the bottom. I have the urge to walk in to take a closer look at the new boy, but I keep my mouth closed and decide to mind my own business.

I’ve been snooping enough today, and they both seemed busy. I won’t bother them.

On the third floor I only see 3 halls. My own, a hall that only has the doors of other Gaia (I don’t even think about looking in any of their rooms. I don’t know who’s here at the moment, but I’m not risking facing an altercation), and then the Queen’s. If the layout of this floor is any similar to the last two, then I know the Queen’s room must take up the same amount of space as three halls.

Fucking rich people.

After stumbling around I take note of how few guards there are. I assumed that there would be guards all around the place. Shouldn’t the Queen be heavily protected? Shouldn’t the people in the castle be heavily protected?

They all have powers. They can protect themselves.

Oh that’s right. Here, they’re all protected by their magic. They don’t need physical help. With their own magic, plus that of their Charmers I’m sure they aren’t worried about safety at all.

Unlike me.

What happens if the castle is attacked? What happens if people come in and try to kill all of us? I’m almost positive no one would come to my aid, so I’d basically be dead. On my own and killed without hesitation. I don’t want to die at the hands of angry magic users in a fucking castle.

I still have regrets.

I never had fancy tuna. I haven’t gotten to be a mom. I haven’t even been able to be in love…well I mean there was Tao, but it’s not like it was happily in love. I was always afraid for one of our lives. We couldn’t even date. I’ve never even been on a date! I’m too young to die yet. I still have dreams.

I find a door on the third floor that looks no bigger than a closet door (which is considerably small compared to the others). I open it, and it leads up a set of stairs. I quietly climb the stairs and am met with two different halls. I hear loud chatter from the one on the left, and I allow my feet to take me to the door that leads to whatever part of the castle that’s been hidden so well.

I can’t but feel that I shouldn’t be here. I don’t feel as though I’m in direct danger…but it still seems as though this is a part of the castle I shouldn’t be wandering around. I want to back away, but my hand reaches out for the knob despite the growing fear that I’m feeling.

A hand grabs the wrist of the hand at my side and yanks me backwards. My mouth is covered and I’m pulled flat against the body of some unknown person. I scream into the palm of my assailant while they pull me back away from the door. I stop and take in another breath to start shouting; in that second of silence I’m turned around to face my attacker.

What was supposed to be a scream comes out as a mix between a relieved sigh and an annoyed groan. The hand moves from my mouth and my ‘attacker’ smiles shyly. “Jongin, you asshole!” I whisper shout at the boy. I smack him in the shoulder and he lets out a quiet Ow… accompanied with a pout.

My surprise passes quickly and I throw myself into his arms so that I can hug him tightly. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until our bodies started touching. I tighten my arms around his neck and he does the same around my waist. He lets me go first, and I reluctantly do so as well.

“You should go back to your room.” He whispers. No hello. No how’s it going. No I’m sorry I hadn’t come look for you. I feel saddened at how he is dismissing me, but I respond to his statement regardless.

“What does that door lead to?”

“It’s just the Charmer hall.”

Sehun must be in there. “Is that where Sehun is?” I ask glancing at the door again. He nods slowly with a slight frown. I feel a slight pang of possessiveness, and at the sudden feeling I frown with him. Where is this coming from? What is with these misplaced feelings that have been happening? “Okay, well can you take me back to my room?” I ask him while trying to ignore the slight selfishness that I’m feeling.

He shakes his head. “I can’t teleport unless I know what the place looks like, and I haven’t seen your room.” I hadn’t even known that about his ability. I guess everyone had limits. I nod and take his hand in my own. I was tired after all the walking around, but seeing him has given me a burst of energy. Despite my growing exhaustion I drag him back down the stairs to my bedroom.

Once we get back in my room and I close the door I jump Jongin once again. I loop my arms back around his neck and let the comfortable feeling of his body against mine overpower the anxiety and fear that I had been feeling before. “I missed you.” I mutter into his shoulder. I grip the material of his shirt tighter in my hands.

“I missed you too.” His voice sounds so soft and so familiar near my ear that I almost want to cry.

But I’ve done enough crying for the day, so I decide not to be a little bitch for just this once. I pull back and smash my lips to his cheek out of pure excitement. The air shifts and the familiar feeling of being ripped through space surrounds me. The both of us pull away in shock after having moved from beside the door to my ginormous bed.

I don’t feel nearly as sick as the first time that I teleported with Jongin, but I was having a…rough day that day. I’m sure half of my sickness was self-imposed. I examine his shocked expression with confusion. “I thought you said you can’t teleport unless you’ve seen the place? You haven’t been in my room before...” I quirk an eyebrow “, unless you’ve been watching me sleep again.” I tease. He blinks unaffected by my banter and looks back towards the door where we were before.

“I can’t. I can’t and I-I haven’t been in here before.” He says with furrowed brows. He looks at me as if I have a way to clear up his confusion. “I didn’t-” he points to the door. “I didn’t do that on purpose. I don’t- this is…” he ruffles his hair in frustration. He turns away from me. “This is the second time…I don’t understand.” He whispers to himself low enough that I almost don’t hear it.

He seems to be deep in some kind of personal crisis. I roll my eyes and wrap my arms around one of his like a child. I’m feeling utterly clingy, and if I had Tao here then I could be clingy with someone who is innately like that and I know wouldn’t mind, but he isn’t. So Jongin will have to suffice. I have missed his pretty face anyway, and I want to touch him. “Wh-What are you-”

“Shush. Stop freaking out and let me enjoy having you back around okay?” I squeeze his arm soothingly and his stuttering dies out. I’m just glad to have him here by my side once again.

Notes