You are my starlight
The moment we looked at each other
The dark nights are falling
We shine in it
- Ateez, Light
"Traveller?", Rory asked amused. "You couldn't come up with a better name?"
Ra sighed and even if Rory couldn't see it she was sure the girl rolled her eyes. It was a leader thing, you know?
"My point is, you're not from this world and neither are the boys but you're the only one who's aware of that. You're the only one who can control it."
"How do you know?", Rory asked confused. "I could be a random girl from another island. Why should I trust you?"
Ra lead Rory to the end of the hall, revealing a beautiful viewing platform. The view of the sea was amazing and no ship would ever dare to go near the rocks here so it was a safe place, but Rory couldn't focus on that.
"You can't trust me. But you can trust yourself.", Ra said and put her hands on her mask. For a second she hesitated but she figured it was the only way to make Rory trust her. Then she pulled it of, making Rory gasp in shock.
"You- you're-", she tried to say but her head wasn't able to from a sentence. Rory was staring at herself. Not in a mirror or the water. Herself. The only thing different were the bruises. Ra's face was full of scars and she was covering an eye with a patch. Her hair was short and on her face were several red wounds.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Aurora.", Ra said, almost embarrassed. Rory couldn't help but reach out to Ra's face, making her flinch for a second. Then she allowed it. When Rory let her hands wander, she could almost feel the pain herself.
"Who did this to you?"
Ra laughed bitterly, shaking of Rory's hand. "Who other could it be than my own father? Power makes people do cruel things, just like fear. I stole the crown on my own and he burned my face. Honestly, I have no idea how I made it out of there alive. I fled to this island where many people were scared of the new king."
"What about your eye?", Rory asked carefully, not wanting to step over the line. Ra softly touched the black patch.
"He threw a knife at me. It's never gonna heal again, but at least I got another one, right?"
It got silent between the two and Ra put on her mask again, careful to not touch her wounds. The traumatic experience kept her awake at night but at that exact moment she had realized her father was gone. And she was going to do everything to save the people from his reign.
"Why are you hiding?"
"We're literally searched for fugitives who want the King's death. Not exactly a group you'd like to invite for a tea party."
Rory sighed wondering if she was as sarcastic as Ra but threw the thought away. It was all just too confusing. "I mean your mask. Your look shouldn't define who you are."
Ra flinched. "Every time I look at the wounds, the anger comes back. Trust me, when the day comes, I'll take it off and face my father with all the anger I built up. The bruises keep reminding me for what I'm fighting for."
A shiver ran down Rory's spine and she subconsciously touched her stomach. Scars of the accident were still there and they will never fully heal. But unlike Ra, they weren't reminding her of anger, they reminded her of all the losses.
"So", Ra started awkwardly. "I assume you have many questions to ask."
"Are we the same person?"
Ra laughed. "No. We look exactly the same, or at least did once but we're different. Actually every person has a copy of themselves in another world, for balance and it's like- how should I say it- it's like, both versions die at the same time."
"So this is a real world?"
"Do you want it to be?", Ra asked. "I could ask you the same. You can go to this world in your dreams, right?"
"How do you know?"
"You're a Traveller, Rory. I already called you that.", Ra explained but when she saw Rory's confused face, she continued. "Travellers are people who, duh, travel between the worlds."
"So, are there many people like me?", Rory asked raising an eyebrow not sure if she should believe that.
"Everyone could do it, to be honest. The moment people start dreaming, the doors to my world are open but only a few actually realize what's going on. You probably only got here, because of your emotions. That's the most likely thing. Or someone gave you a mission."
Rory instinctively wanted to grab the compass but, once again, she realized it was still in her room. Her reaction made Ra laugh and Rory wondered if she sounded the same.
"Your mission is to bring your boys back, right? I thought so."
"Jongho, your friend, told me, I had to save them but I was not allowed to get them to Wonderland. I had to prevent them from getting there, but now you tell me we have to go there? That doesn't make sense."
"Rory.", Ra started, realizing their mistake. "We thought you could bring the boys back, when you make them remember but I guess that's almost impossible. We didn't want you to come near Wonderland, because the King's warriors are there and if you die-"
"You die as well.", Rory finished, finally realizing what that meant. Shocked she looked at the sea and felt her eyes water. Scared she held onto the rail. "What am I supposed to do now? If they reach Wonderland, they're never gonna leave!"
Ra thought about it for a while. It was true, most people never came back. Something came into her mind. "Make them whish for it!"
"For what?", Rory snapped, sick of getting thrown around as if she was a paper plane. But Ra wasn't faced by that.
"Make them realize this is not their world. They have to realize, that they have a life to live, people to come back to. Make them wish for going back to your world. I'm not sure if it works beyond my world but it's worth a try."
"I hope you're right.", Rory sighed. "But how do we pass the King's warriors without dying?"
Once again Ra thought for a while. Her gaze fell onto her sword and an idea came into her mind.
"Did you ever fight?"
"Unless you mean fighting my brother for food, then no."
"What a pity, I guess we'll have to upgrade you.", Ra explained with a grin. Even though Rory couldn't see it, she still knew Ra was smiling like a freak.
"So are you the upgraded version of myself?"
"Don't worry about it for now." Ra said. "I'll lead you to your room. Tomorrow you'll see."
Rory couldn't even think about sleeping. The shower had helped clearing her mind but at the same time she never wanted to get out again. She had to take a few moments to process what happened today.
"I'm going crazy. That's the only logic answer, right? Right?" Rory knew it was too real for her to actually be crazy. Or she at least wanted it to be.
Now dressed in a simple nightdress she was laying in the big bed. When Ra lead her to the room, Rory had expected just a simple mattress, but instead it felt like a royal bedroom. It was already late at night, but Rory wasn't able to sleep.
At first she thought it was because she was used to simple mattresses and not fancy beds like that but when she realized what was missing, her eyes widened. Yunho. His warmth. His touch.
Rory yelled into her pillow but then started whining. She had only cuddled with Yunho one time while sleeping, right? The more Rory thought about it, the more moments she remembered where he had touched her. Just thinking about it made her feel dizzy.
"Stupid feelings.", Rory whispered but still got up. When her feet touched the cold floor, she flinched but after a few steps it wasn't as bad as before anymore. Rory reached the door and slowly stepped out into the big hall. Even though she was a guest here, she felt more like an intruder. Careful to not make a sound, she wandered around, until a realization hit her.
Rory had no idea where Yunho's room was.
"Shit.", she cursed and wanted to go back to her room but then she saw a shadow around the corner. Scared Rory pushed herself against the wall and grabbed the first thing she could reach. A book. Whops, better than nothing.
The person went around the corner and Rory was already charging towards it with a scream. When she realized who it was she already crashed into him.
You guessed it, it's Yunho. Both fell down on the cold floor, Rory on top of him. With a shocked face Yunho eyed the book, still in Rory's hands.
"You wanted to attack me with a book?"
"Well, I'm about to make it a weapon, unless you promise me to never tell anyone about it. Deal?"
"Deal.", Yunho agreed instantly. Of course he was taller than her, but one thing he didn't want to do was anger Rory. Embarrassed both of them stood up. "What even were you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same.", Rory argued, putting the book away, and glared at the boy in front of her. Yunho on the other hand avoided her gaze, not sure what to say. In the end he chose the truth, not wanting to lie to Rory.
"I worried about you. Nobody has seen you since you went with Ra."
"And that had to be in the middle of the night?"
"And I-I-", Yunho stammered. "I couldn't sleep without you?"
Surprised Rory froze on the spot, making Yunho even more nervous than he already was. Embarrassed he walked up and down, waiting for an answer. When Rory didn't, he quickly said: "And what about you? Uhm, enjoying the moon light?"
At this Rory couldn't help but burst out in laugher. But then her cheeks started turning red. "I actually couldn't sleep without you either."
Yunho stopped in his act and almost tripped over the rag. When he realized what she had said, a big grin appeared on Yunho's face.
"So you missed me, huh?"
"You know, I could ask you the exact same?", Rory asked amused, hoping the darkness would hide her embarrassment. Unfortunate for her, Yunho pulled her closer so he could see her. The moonlight fell onto her skin and when he saw what affect he had on her, his heart jumped a beat.
"What are we gonna do now?", Yunho asked, his voice a whisper making Rory lose her mind. But then she had an idea.
"Come with me."
"Wow.", Yunho said in amazement when the both of them stepped out on the viewing platform. Unfortunately, it had started raining so they were standing at the entrance. While Yunho watched the sea Rory looked at him.
His eyes started to shimmer and Rory felt proud of herself she had shown him this. Rory was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice how Yunho looked at her as well.
"Are you done staring?"
"Never.", Rory said, surprising Yunho. Both of them broke out in a smile. Then Rory watched the rain falling down. "It's a pity we can't go to the front."
"Who say we can't?", Yunho asked, grinning widely. Before Rory could stop him, he already ran out into the rain, spinning around.
Amused Rory followed him. The moment the raindrops fell on her face, she felt her fear rise. A few months ago the accident had started just like this.
"Are you okay?", Yunho asked, softly placing his hands on Rory's cheeks. Of course he had noticed her mood change.
Rory snapped out of her thoughts and the moment she looked into Yunho's eyes, the rain didn't seem so bad anymore. A small smile appeared on her face when she reached out for his hands and intertwined their fingers.
"May I ask you for a dance, Mylady?", Yunho asked playfully serious, making Rory laugh. Her white dress was drenched in water and the rain was cold but she didn't care. Nothing mattered now.
"I'm the worst dancer on my earth, just a warning."
Yunho winked at her. He didn't know how, but he was sure of the dancing steps, as if his body remembered all of it. "Do you trust me?"
For a second Rory had flashbacks to the day Yunho had asked her the same when he was driving the car. That time she had answered 'No', but many things changed since then. Nervously, Rory nodded.
Yunho immediately started whirling Rory around. His blue pyjamas were wet as well, making him feel a bit uneasy but one look at Rory made him smile. She had started laughing and just this sound made him go crazy.
They continued dancing on the platform, without music but none of them cared. Yunho easily lead Rory back to him. Rory lost balance and held onto Yunho but he caught her in time.
"You're right. You're the worst.", Yunho joked. Rory wanted to reply something but the words stuck in her mouth when she looked up.
Yunho's wet black hair fell down simply and he had a few bruises from the hunt still on his face. But for Rory he was the most beautiful in the world. Her heart seemed to stop when she realized how close they were. Yunho's arms were around her waist, pulling Rory even closer to his chest.
Rory could feel his heartbeat going faster and usually she would have joked about it but now she was feeling the exact same.
Yunho leaned down a bit, not daring to break eye contact. His hands wandered from Rory's waist to her cheeks. "May I?"
Leaning even closer to him, Rory didn't answer. Her actual reply though, was shocking Yunho even more.
She kissed him. And this time nobody interrupted them with a single sneeze.