If Minsun and Xun thought that Erde was bright, Vatten was their worst nightmare. Wooyoung looked back to see his two friends groaning, both using their powers to keep them in the shade.
"Where are we going?" Xun asked, getting impatient. Both him and Wooyoung had their sleeves rolled up, but the fact that Xun was wearing all black was definitely getting to him, especially under Vatten's bright sun.
"We're going to go see the queen." Wooyoung told them, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Considering how it seems like only those born with royal blood are aware of the keys, I assume the Queen of Vatten would be our best bet."
Wooyoung stopped for a moment as he turned towards his friends, a serious look to his face. Minsun took note of this, staring at him with squinted eyes. "What?"
"Do you two like cats?"
...
Minsun smiled as one of Eunhye's cats jumped into her lap, quickly getting settled. She gently petted the soft fur, not minding the animal's presence. On the other hand, Xun was avoiding Eunhye's second cat, moving away from it as it meowed at his chair.
Suddenly giggles and the sounds of small feet running only frightened Xun more, and Minsun tried not to laugh as the Princess of Vatten approached Xun. He instantly moved away as Chaesoo picked up the cat, struggling to carry it towards her mother.
"Eomma, look!" Chaesoo cheered, passing Eunhye the cat. The Queen chuckled before taking the cat from her daughter, holding her hand as they settled at the table where Minsun and her friends were.
The Queen had arranged for a lunch out on the beaches of Vatten, inside of a gazebo. There were cute little sandwiches and pastries, more than enough to fill all of them up. Wooyoung was comfortable, already munching on some of the snacks, while Xun was looking around, trying to make sure there weren't any other animals approaching him.
"So you three are here for the key?" Eunhye asked, taking a seat at the table. Chaesoo instantly climbed into the chair between her mother and Minsun, and Minsun couldn't help but giggle as she patted Chaesoo's head, the little girl being absolutely adorable.
"Yes, Vatten's key to close the door between the two dimensions." Wooyoung said, in between bites. "By the way, these sandwiches are really good."
"Have more then." Eunhye said, moving the plate in Wooyoung's direction. "You should eat up before the others come back."
Other's?
"What do you mean by others?" Xun asked, reading Minsun's mind. "Who else is here?"
"Oh? You three didn't know?" Eunhye seemed surprised. "That's funny because they were looking for the key too."
What?
The annoying voice that was much too familiar to Minsun's ears made her groan, the others turning around. "Wait, you're here already?"
"Hua?" Wooyoung exclaimed, standing up. "Why are you here? And with Jihyung and Jingsi?"
Minsun took a deep breath before turning around to see her brother there, along with his group of friends. The King of Vatten was behind them, a smile on his face as he followed the three children.
"Jihyung, show them." Hua said with a smile, motioning to the young boy. Jihyung nodded his head, fishing the item out of his pocket before proudly holding it up.
"Hah, looks like I beat you to it." Jihyung exclaimed, sticking out his tongue at his sister. "Slowpoke."
Minsun clenched her hands in fists, anger bubbling inside of her. She soon calmed down as she felt Xun place a hand on her shoulder, reminding her that she was in front of the Queen and King of Vatten.
"How did you know about the keys?" Xun asked, the question burning in all their minds.
It wasn't Jihyung but Jingsi that answered. "We went to visit that old lady your parents were talking about. You should probably talk quieter if you don't want people to know by the way."
This time, Xun seemed just as mad as she was, not happy with the fact that their intentions were leaked.
Luckily, Wooyoung seemed fairly calm, shoving the rest of his sandwich in his mouth before dusting his hands, approaching the new additions to the group. "So how many keys do you have then?"
"A lot." Jaemin mumbled, moving to where Chaesoo was. Minsun noticed him exchanging looks with his daughter, the two of them laughing before he picked her up, holding his daughter in his arms. "I think they have almost all the keys."
"We can show you." Jihyung said, him, Jingsi, and Hua digging into their pockets. Minsun didn't really want to hear it, raising her hands up.
Before she could say anything though, Eunhye spoke first, standing between the group.
"Well now that Jaemin helped you find the key, why don't you all enjoy your time here in Vatten for the rest of the afternoon?"
...
Minsun decided to skip out on the beach activities, opting for something that wasn't as much work. Luckily, one of the nobles in Vatten was born in a dark realm, his house much different from the others.
"Your wife really allows you to live in a place like this?" Xun asked as Hendery passed him a controller. Apparently, Hendery had recently changed the set up of the gaming system of the house and desperately needed someone to test it out.
"I mean if she didn't, I told her I would go back to Dealain." Hendery said with a shrug. "I love Vatten and all but I refuse to live in a non-air conditioned hut."
Xun chuckled, understanding the struggle but Minsun couldn't help but think back to her younger brother, who was now playing in the water with his friends. I can't believe he just found all the keys, without even telling us!
"Minsun, are you tired?" Minsun looked up to see Sora moving towards them, a tray with fruits in her hands. She placed it down on the table in front of Hendery and Xun, before looking over at Minsun. "Do you want to rest up for the day? You can stay in the guest room."
Minsun honestly wasn't sure but Xun gave her a reassuring smile, nodding his head. "You haven't gotten much sleep in a while. Maybe a nap wouldn't be such a bad idea."
Minsun decided to take Xun's advice, nodding her head as she turned back to Sora. "If you don't mind, I would love that."
"Of course." Sora replied.
Minsun followed her into the halls, entering one of the guest rooms. Sora helped her get adjusted, even offering her a nightgown to sleep in.
"Let me know if you need anything." Sora called out, about to leave the room. Minsun thanked her before she left, slowly getting adjusted.
I guess a little sleep won't hurt, Minsun thought, closing her eyes.
...
When Minsun looked around and saw that she was in a washroom, she already knew what was going on.
Here we go again.
Her stomach felt terrible and there was an awful stench coming from the toilet. She took a deep breath as she sat there on the cold floor, hugging her knees to her chest as she held in whatever was threatening to come up.
She heard the sound of someone barging into her room, throwing the door to the washroom open. She was expecting an aggressive yell but instead, she felt the person kneel down beside her.
"You need to rest." Mark said softly, rubbing her back. "You're not feeling well, don't work today."
"I'm fine, Mark." She pushed him away, trying to get up. Mark didn't let her get too far though, holding his sister the entire way back to her bed.
"You're not." Mark whispered softly, as he helped her into bed, tucking her in. "Jungwoo just died and you've been feeling terrible for the past few days. You need rest."
He doesn't know, she thought, turning away from her brother. Neither of them know.
She didn't answer him and Mark took the silent signal, giving his sister one last pat on the arm. "Let me know if you need anything."
I won't, she thought to herself. I can't tell you.
She took a deep breath, placing a hand on her stomach as she closed her eyes. I'm so sorry, Jungwoo. I don't think I can do this.
Minsun felt her soul slowly leave the body, an experience she had never felt before. It was like she was hovering above the scene now, watching Grace as she slept, a tear falling down her face.
"Sad, isn't it?"
Minsun turned around, shocked to see that she wasn't staring alone, but the same girl who was sleeping was now beside her, dressed differently. "Grace?"
Grace chuckled. "That's right, Minsun. It's me."
Minsun reached out, wondering if it was real but her hand only went through her body. Grace's smile faded as the realization hit her. "This is still a dream, isn't it?"
"It is." Grace sighed. "And we can't be here for long. Orenda is in great danger and you need to find me before it all goes wrong."
"Where are you though?" Minsun asked, realizing that her body outside of her dream had woken up. "Wait, tell me where you are!"
"I can't, I'm sorry Minsun." Grace said, her figure starting to fade away. "But you're on the right track, you're close. I can feel it."
Before Minsun could say anything else, she was pulled back into her own world, her eyes opening.
...
"Gosh, why are her eyes like that?" Xun exclaimed. The other children were behind him, watching as Xun shook Minsun, who's eyes had turned glossy in her sleep.
Suddenly, Minsun blinked, her eyes returning to normal before staring into Xun's. "Xun? What are you doing?"
"I was going to wake you up." Xun let out a deep sigh of relief. "Minsun, don't scare me like that."
"What happened?" Minsun asked, sitting up as she looked beyond Xun at the others. "Why are you all here? What is going on?"
"We were going to ask you when you wanted to leave to get the last key." Wooyoung said, stepping up. "But you... you weren't yourself."
Minsun shook her head, gently pushing Xun's arm off her shoulder. "I'm fine. I was just having another dream. Grace was there, she asked me to find her."
"How are we supposed to find a dead person?" Jingsi mumbled, clearly unamused at the situation. The others stayed quiet, but Minsun knew they were thinking the same thing.
"I don't know, but she said we're close. We're on the right track, so we have to continue." Minsun informed them.
"Well, I guess that's easy." Hua said, motioning to Jihyung. "Come on, tell your sister which key you forgot to get."
Jihyung nervously stepped forward, avoiding his sister's eyes. "Minsun, we have to go to Eis."
———————————————————————————
- Age: 15
- Vare: Moonstone Necklace
- Parents: Ten and Meixin
- Kind and Bright
- Good energy follows her
Na Chaesoo
- Age: 4
- Parents: Jaemin and Eunhye
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More babies hehe