Jisun jumped when she entered her office, the presence of the dark haired girl seated on one of her couches in the centre of the room. "Who let you in?"
"One of your servants." Grace replied, still staring at a wall as Jisun lit up the room. Unlike Grace, she wasn't used to the darkness, needing a bit of light in her life to function. "If you wanted to keep me out, you should have told them."
"I thought you would know better than to intrude." Jisun said, moving towards Grace, taking a seat opposite to her. "But I guess I was wrong."
Before Grace died, she and Jisun had a decent relationship. Mark's younger sister was very supportive of her relationship with Mark, and they never had any problems.
Ever since she had returned though, it seemed like that had all changed. There was something that seemed off with Grace, her aura reminding Jisun of Chanyoung's in a way. In addition to the fact that she had learned that Minsun wasn't her child, there was something off about her sister-in-law, something that made Jisun unable to trust her.
"It seems like you're not very happy with my choice of bringing Minsun with me." Grace said, looking away from Jisun as she took in the rest of the study.
"It just seems pointless, that's all. Minsun has many responsibilities as the crown princess, I think her time can be better spent. Do you even have a lead on where the key is?"
"Minsun will not take the throne." Grace announced, making Jisun stiffen. Her head slowly turned, meeting Jisun's eyes. "She's not your daughter which means that she won't be the next ruler."
Jisun clenched her teeth, holding in the anger boiling inside of her. "A crown princess isn't created overnight. Minsun has worked for this all her life, even if she's not my daughter, I don't see why she can't take it. Plus, I don't think this is a decision for you to make."
"I won't allow it." Grace said, standing up, ignoring the fact that she was facing the Queen of Orenda. "Minsun has much more to learn, she won't be able to take on the crown princess duties. At this point, you should train Jihyung instead, he'd be a much better fit."
"Yah!" Jisun exclaimed but Grace ignored her, moving straight through the doors. Jisun quickly chased after her, about to pull her back but Grace had already opened the door, revealing Mark on the other side.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Mark asked, eyeing the two females.
Yes, Jisun wanted to say but Grace was faster, shaking her head. "No, I was about to leave. Enjoy the rest of the evening with your wife, brother."
Jisun could only watch as Grace left her office, disappearing from her sight. Mark took notice of this, reaching out and placing an arm around her shoulders. "Love, is everything alright? You seem tense."
"She's taking Minsun away from us." Jisun stated bluntly, no longer caring that she was talking bad about her husband's sister. "She won't let Minsun be the next ruler of Orenda."
"Are you sure about that?" Mark asked in the tone of voice that he knew always soothed Jisun. Despite this though, Jisun was still tense, immediately whipping her head towards Mark.
"Mark, she invaded my space and told me that Minsun is no longer the crown princess as she has 'better things to do with her time.' She might be your sister but I would still like to be treated like a queen. I don't think that basic respect is too much to ask for."
Mark sighed, visibly stressed by the argument between the two. "I can try talking to her, you know my sister. She does what she feels is right and follows her own gut. She doesn't really voice her thoughts unless she has to, surely there's an underlying meaning behind all this."
"Well if she doesn't say it then I won't know." Jisun argued. "She can't just tell me half of the story and expect me to understand."
"I don't think she understands it herself." Mark mumbled, so quietly that Jisun almost missed it.
"What?"
Mark took a deep breath, gently tilting Jisun's face so that she was staring into his eyes.
"I'm not sure if you noticed but I don't think Chanyoung's spell affected everyone."
...
"You didn't have to come, you should be on a honeymoon or something." Jungwoo said, crossing his arms as Jaehyun approached him. He was waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, all of them meeting in front of Chenle's mansion in Dealain.
"Considering the fact that hyung died at my wedding, I feel somewhat responsible." Jaehyun sighed, shaking his head. "Plus, you and Taeyong weren't the only ones that went through the door, I can help."
"I'm not doubting that." Jungwoo said, staring at his friend. "But seriously, you should spend some time with Haesoo. You're married now, you should be happy."
"You'll be too, soon." Jaehyun said, sensing the sadness behind Jungwoo's words. "You proposed to her properly and she said yes. Marriage is just around the corner."
"That's if I don't lose her first." Jungwoo sighed, looking away. Jaehyun reached out, patting the male on the shoulder.
"You won't, I know you won't." Jaehyun said, doing his best to comfort the male.
Jungwoo ignored him though, simply pushing Jaehyun's hand off. "You can't guarantee anything, we both know that."
Jaehyun gulped, not liking Jungwoo's current state. He was the energizer, the bubblier of the two of them. He was someone with a soft heart and cared for those around him, doing his best to keep everyone happy. Right now though, Jungwoo was anything but that, as if a dark storm cloud loomed over his head.
Luckily, the others had arrived, Taeyong coming into sight with Wooyoung and Hua following. Wooyoung seemed eager to get moving and Jaehyun didn't blame him. Every passing moment was another moment without the boy's father, and Jaehyun knew what it was like to wish for a loved one to return.
"Shall we get going?" Taeyong asked as they stopped in front of Jungwoo and Jaehyun, greeting them. Jungwoo's demeanor didn't change, the male shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Probably." Jungwoo mumbled, turning around. "Are you all ready?"
Jaehyun glanced at Wooyoung and Hua, who both nodded their heads. "I want to retrieve my father as soon as possible."
Taeyong and Jaehyun exchanged looks, the older quickly picking up on Jaehyun's silent signal. "Let's not waste any time then."
And with that, the group was soon threading themselves through the crowds of Dealain, heading towards the door that separated the two dimensions of the dead and living.
...
"You shouldn't be here." Ten pushed himself off the wall, watching as Grace exited her previous room, a thick leather bound book in her hands. It looked old, older than any other book he had seen in the Ombra's castle, only making him more suspicious.
"What's that?" Ten asked, motioning to her hands.
Grace remained unaffected, simply taking her hands out from behind her and showing them to Ten. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Ten's eyes widened but with every moment he was spending with her, he felt like his hypothesis was coming true. "Where did that book go? I know you were holding it!"
"Once again, I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you may excuse me, Minsun and Xun are waiting with my brother in the gardens."
Ten rolled his eyes, grabbing onto Grace's arm as she walked past, stopping her. "You're not fooling me, we grew up together. You seem to be forgetting who helped you get out of trouble and had your back when Mark couldn't."
"If you're trying to threaten me, you're failing." Grace replied but Ten only tightened his grip, making her wince.
"I know you, Grace Lee, and I know that Chanyoung's spell didn't affect you." Ten hissed into her ear, throwing her arm down. Grace glared at him but he wasn't going to back down. He needed to know how it had happened. "What are you hiding from us?"
"You already know." Grace said, rubbing her wrist. As her engagement ring went over the red marks that Ten had created, her flesh returned to its normal peach colour, her vare healing her wound. "You knew before I died."
"That you were going to sacrifice yourself?" Ten asked, trying to wrap his head around it all. "That doesn't make sense, are you planning on sacrificing yourself again?'
Grace let out a deep sigh, lifting her hands, palms up, in front of her. "What did I have to know in order to exchange my life with Mark's?"
"Black magic?" Ten said just as the book appeared in Grace's hands, forming out of thin air. As Ten got a better look at it, he realized why he didn't recognize it. It wasn't an ordinary book but a spell book. A black magic spell book.
"I see that you still have some brain cells left in you." Grace chuckled as she let the book disappear again. She took a deep breath, her face becoming serious again. "But you're right, Chanyoung's spell didn't affect me. That's because I'm also a black magic user."
"You could have saved Doyoung, why didn't you?" Ten questioned, trying to understand. "He died right in front of us and none of us could do anything. But you could."
"And risk revealing my abilities to Chanyoung?" Grace asked back. "I'm nowhere near his level, the less he knows the better."
"What if they can't find him?" Ten said, trying to find reason with Grace's actions. "You literally let him die, Grace. You might have come back from the dead but I hope you know that for the rest of us, death is still something we feared."
"The door's wide open, there's no way that he won't be coming back." Grace replied, adjusting the ring on her finger. "Chanyoung knows that. If he didn't want Doyoung coming back, he would have destroyed his vare, just like he did with the witch from the cottage."
Ten had a bad feeling as Grace began walking away, her footsteps echoing down the halls. "You're looking for her, aren't you? You're going to take Mark, Minsun, and Xun to her cottage to find the final key."
Grace stopped, keeping her back towards Ten, only tilting her head to the side.
"The best thing you can do is pray that the final key is there in the rubble because otherwise, that means that Chanyoung has it and closing the door would be an impossible task for us."
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So when will i write the next chapter? Idk