The soft padding of the bed helps soothe his aching muscles. The pillow gives comfort to his pounding head. The feeling as though he went ten round with the Incredible Hulk and lost every single battle drags on his body. There is dryness in his throat, which is a bit irritating, but he is so comfortable that he doesn't want to move. He considers calling out for his mother to get him some water, but he doesn't want to bother her on her day off. His father wouldn't be much help since he is a rock when he sleeps and it takes an excessive amount of effort to get him out of bed.
Felix rolls over to his side, curling further in the sheets of his bed, inhaling the scent of his pillow. It smells different from how he remembers, it's not the soapy floral that he is used to, but his mother often washes his sheets without informing him that she is doing so. The strange and different scent, of cinnamon and honey, could be from the new detergent his mother is trying out. He likes it, a lot, much more than the overly powering lavender scent that invades his nostril almost every night.
He hears the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by footsteps making their way closer to him. He could have sworn his room had carpeting on his floors, so the clacking sounds are a little strange but he brushes it off as the fact he just woke up a minute ago and isn't fully registering what is going on around him. Without opening his eyes, Felix stretches his arms out behind him, making a grabbing motion towards the person.
"Mom?"
"Sorry," the more masculine sounding voice speaks, "not your mother."
You're not my father either.
Felix's eyes spring open as he pushes himself up on the bed, flipping himself around to face the person. Everything around him looks nothing like his bedroom. The man next to him stares blankly at him for a few seconds before writing something on his clipboard. Where am I?
"Who are you?" Felix asks the man.
"My name is Yixing, and I'm the school's nurse." He answers, sweetly.
Felix is sure he isn't at school and he knows that his school nurse name is not Yixing.
"Where am I?" Felix asks, voice shaking.
"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that," Yixing explains, continuing to write on the clipboard, "don't worry though, everything will be answered soon."
Felix is beyond anxious, he doesn't have words to describe how scared he is right now, and no matter what this stranger tells him it won't calm his nerves one bit. He can wish and hope all he wants, but Felix knows he is too deep in this to call it a dream any longer. He can feel his throat begin to constrict as the feeling of wanting to cry creeps up on him. His breaths get heavier with each passing second as a gnawing, nauseous feeling makes its way into his stomach. So many things are running through his head, he can't keep his mind in one place. What is this place? Are people looking for me? Are my parents worried about me?
Felix so desperately wants nothing more than to be back at home, in the safety of his own room, surrounded by the familiarity of his belongings and his family. The last thing he can remember is the park and the people who wanted to kill him. His mind went blank with fear, and he could not register any of what the people were saying and before he could bring himself out of it, everything went dark.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Yixing asks him after he is finished writing his notes.
If he were in a better state, he probably would refuse and try to run out of this place. However, his entire body hurts and he is so tired that the simple thought of running makes him feel sick. A part of him feels like giving up. Wherever he is, he can't change that. Whatever they do to him, he hopes it will be quick and painless.
Nodding weakly, Felix croaks out an answer, "I would like some water."
Yixing leaves the room, giving Felix a little space and to go get his water. Yixing doesn't know much about the boy's situation, but he does know the boy is far away from home and is terrified. There isn't a lot he can do for the younger except bring him as much comfort as possible before he meets with the Headmaster.
Felix takes a look around the room, the white walls with the brown wooden trim lining the bottom reminds him of a hospital room. It looks nearly identical, only with no machines and much cozier beds. He sits up, resting his back against the headboard. Everything here looks so normal, compared to the experience he had last night. At least I think it was last night.
Felix doesn't actually know if he has been here longer. It feels like he just woke up from a dream he had the previous night, but he can't say for sure.
A few tears trickle down his face. He hates crying because for him it's physically painful with the way his throat clenches, but he is so scared and confused that he doesn't know what else to do other than cry. He hugs his knees into his chest, burying his face into them to muffle some of the sobs he is emitting. His body shakes with every sob that leaves his mouth, he struggles to gasp for air as his throat tightens the more intense the sobbing gets. It only makes his throat feel dryer and brings him more pain.
Yixing returns with a smile on his face and a glass of water in his hand, but that quickly falters when he sees the crying boy. The nurse hurries over, setting the glass of water down on the bedside table, before gently bringing up a hand to rest on the boy's back. He soothingly rubs circles into it and the boy continues to sob, remembering how it always made him feel better when his older brother would do this for him when he was sad. Yixing can only imagine what this boy must be going through right now, the fear and pain he must feel.
After getting the boy to calm down enough, Yixing lifts his head softly, reaching over with his other hand to grab the glass of water. He carefully hands it to Felix, who quickly gulps down the cool liquid, bringing almost instant relief to his throat. He doesn't want to overwhelm the boy, so he figures giving him a little bit of space will help him sort out his thoughts and give him a little extra time to adjust to the extremely new environment. Making sure he is okay one last time, Yixing takes the now empty glass of water before exiting the room.
~•~
The Headmaster sits in his office, his chair facing forward as he waits for the students. Two of the head teachers stand to the side of the room, also waiting on the arrival of the students. It is completely silent and the tension that fills the room is so thick it's difficult to breathe. Everyone has a blank face, showing little to no expression, as this isn't a situation where laughing and conversing normally would be deemed as appropriate.
Kwon Jiyong has been the Headmaster of Aurora Academy for nearly ten years and not once has he ever had to deal with something of this measure. The door opens and in walks, another head teacher, following behind are the two students involved with the incident. For now, the Headmaster wants to keep the newcomer away from this until he decides what will be done with him.
Instructed to sit, the two boys take the seats placed directly in front of the Headmaster's desk, while the third head teacher goes over to stand by the others. The boys hang their heads in shame under the scrutinizing gaze of their Headmaster. Jiyong likes to think he is reasonable with his students and gives them as much free range to do what they like, as long as he sees it fit. With that being said, the rules he has set in place, he takes very seriously.
"I hope you're aware of the seriousness of the actions you boys have chosen to take," The Headmaster speaks up, looking down on them in the process.
"Yes sir," They respond in unison.
"Not only did you break the law by going to the miscreant world, but you brought one back with you," He elaborates, the slightest hint of disgust in his voice.
"But he's not-"
"Silence!" The Headmaster roars, cutting the raven-haired boy off. The boy presses his lips tightly together and the orders of the Headmaster, lowering his head again.
"Are you aware of what the punishment for your actions is?"
The boys nervously shake their heads. It had never dawned on them, mainly because they thought they would never be caught.
"Dismemberment."
The students, as well as the teacher's heads, shoot up, each one having a look of pure horror etched into the faces. The sound of the students gulping can be heard, it's so deathly quiet.
"It's out of my hands now, it's in the hands of the law," he adds. He turns to the security guards standing opposite to the head teachers.
"Take them away." He motions towards the door.
Easily, the two are lifted from their seats and dragged out of the room. Both showing no sign of resistance to the guards as they are dragged out of the room. They feel sick to their stomachs; they would rather be sentenced to death than have to suffer the horrendous pain of losing a limb.
Jaebum watches in fear as his students are dragged out of the room, wishing he could chase after them and suffer the punishment himself.
Once the students are out of the room and the door has been closed, Jaebum quickly approaches the Headmaster's desk. A bold move made by him to run up and question his own boss, but he cares for all his students and having anything harm them gives him uncomfortable knots in his stomach.
"That isn't actually the punishment, is it?" Jaebum questions with fear and concern written all over him. It is obvious in the other head teachers as well, but both of them stand still, rethinking over the words of what will be happening to their students.
"Yes, it is."
Jaebum's stomach drops.
"If they had brought back an actual miscreant," the Headmaster goes on, folding his hands in front of him on his desk, "that boy, however, has magic pouring from him."
For centuries Aurora has kept laws in place that, prohibit going to the miscreant world and having contact with anyone of that sort. It is near impossible to get over there without someone knowing unless you learn a few tricks, like our friends who were just escorted out. Therefore, how one of their kind ended up there for years without anyone ever knowing about it, is a mystery, but a mystery he will have to solve.
"T-then Yugyeom and Bambam-"
"Are still in trouble and will be punished," the Headmaster states, "however, not to that extent. I only said that to strike a bit of fear into them."
Jaebum, as well as the other teachers, let out an audible sigh of relief. The thought of having to watch their students experience such horrors made them all physically sick, but now they know it won't be happening, it is as if a one thousand pound weight has been lifted off them.
Smiling, the Headmaster glances to his teachers.
"You are all dismissed, I'll be talking to the newcomer alone," he tells them, waving them all towards the door. The teachers follow suit and file out of the office.
"Oh and Jaebum." He stops the teacher, having Jaebum turn back to face him.
"The next time those boys decide to be so careless, I will have no choice but to report them to the authorities."
Jaebum nods curtly to his boss before turning and fully leaving the office.
~•~
His fingernails unknowingly dig into the flesh of his palm, the slight burning from the pain going unnoticed by the male being escorted down the hall. He has spent the walk trying to pull his thoughts together, but the idea of meeting the Headmaster, a person of authority, when he is scared and confused, does not settle well with the orange-haired male. His palms are slightly clammy and will now have random crescent marks dug into them. His knees are wobbly, his fear numbing his legs and making it difficult to walk.
The security guard that walks with him wears an expressionless look on his face, bringing Felix no comfort. At least Yixing would smile and make some of his fear go away, this man scowls and make Felix tense up so much his shoulders might permanently have a hunch.
The hallways are empty, which is odd for a high school, but Felix is unaware that it is a Sunday and that most of the students are still in their rooms. The tiled floors and simply painted walls remind Felix of every other school he has been in, but the symbols and saying that are painted on walls and doors, gives him an eerie feeling, as though everyone in this school is part of some witch cult.
Felix is led a little further down the hall before they are met with a large open room, and directly off to the left of that room stood a large double door that has intricate designs carved into it. The guard walks up to the door, before knocking as Felix wearily stands back. If I run now, how far could I get? Would I be able to find my way home?
A few seconds pass and the guard turn and waves Felix over, he takes slow steps up to the door before the guard grabs the handle and opens the door.
Inside was an office, lined with paintings, cases with medals, and Felix thinks he saw a large case full of knives but his mind purposefully tries to ignore that one. The wooden floor has a large rug placed directly in the center of the floor; it holds eight symbols and lines the circular fabric. A couple of the symbols Felix recognize from the doors in the school hallway. At the end of the large room, a desk was placed and behind that desk sat an unfamiliar man, Felix can only assume to be the Headmaster.
Felix makes eye contact; his face holds no expression, much like the guard but only more terrifying.
"Lee Felix," the Headmaster gestures to the seat in front of him, "please, have a seat."
Felix hesitantly does so, carefully sliding into the seat designated to him. No one else is in the room, the guard that escorted him, opened the door but never followed. His body tightens further as the realization of him being all alone with this man sinks in.
"My name is Kwon Jiyong," he introduces," and I am the Headmaster of Aurora Academy."
"I understand you must be very confused as to where you are." Felix nods, the Headmaster catching the fear in the boy's eyes, "don't worry no one here is going to hurt you."
The words were supposed to be comforting, but Felix still feels anything other than remotely calm. His thoughts are going a mile a minute and his heart isn't much far behind. There are too many things going on and Felix doesn't want to be here, he wants to go home, he wants his family.
"I want to go home," Felix, whimpers, his voice cracking.
The Headmaster's face softens, "I know you do, but you can't."
Felix can feel his eye fill to the brim, "Why?"
Explaining magic to a human never goes well, explaining to someone who thought they were a normal human that they actually have magic flowing through, Jiyong can only imagine being worse. He knows Felix won't take the news lightly, he wouldn't expect him to. This boy has been introduced to a completely different world in very little time. He wasn't taught how to keep himself afloat, he was thrown into the deep end in hopes he wouldn't drown. Now Jiyong has to come in and keep him steady until he learns the basics.
"Everything I am about to tell you is going to be very hard to hear," he explains, "you're going to be even more confused than you already are, but I want you to know things will get easier and with time you will learn to adjust."
Adjust? I don't want to adjust I want to go home.
"Our world lies very close to yours, so close that there is a slit between the two, your side seems to be unaware of this. There is a large difference between our world and the Miscreants that the council decided to guard it and 'close' it on your side. No Miscreant can see it unless granted by a magic-user from our world. For centuries it has been guarded and it is near impossible for anyone to get through, so it leads me to the question of how did you get over there?"
I'm human I belong over there.
If Felix's anxiety levels weren't high enough, well that sure spiked it. His brain is having a hard time processing everything, he isn't to the point of a full-blown panic attack, but he feels he is working his way up there.
"You, Lee Felix, are not an ordinary human; you have abilities completely unknown to the world you grew up in. You are a-"
"No." Felix cuts in, throwing the Headmaster off a little.
"I am normal, I am human, and I am not whatever you are!" Felix shouts, standing up from his seat. He may have been further up that panic level than he thought.
"Okay, so there is another world, with magic, and people who threaten to kill humans, I get that. But I am not one of them," Felix continues, "I belong back in my world, with my family. I will leave and never speak, never think of this place again, just please let me go home."
The two hold eye contact for a few moments, Felix pleading with teary eyes for him to be allowed to go home. He feels he doesn't belong here and he wants to be in the arms of his family as soon as possible. Jiyong, however, won't, can't stand down. He cannot allow Felix to leave; he is a danger to himself and everyone in his world with his untrained magic abilities. It may not have happened yet, but Jiyong knows that if Felix continues to live with it and doesn't learn control, it will burst out of him and wreak havoc in his world.
"I can't do that," the Headmaster states, seemingly unfazed by the boy's outburst, "letting you leave is not an option."
"Please," Felix pleads, his voice being shrunk down to a whisper.
The Headmaster shakes his head, watching as Felix falls back into his seat. The boy can scream and fight all he wants but he knows that none of that will get him home. Though it's hard for Felix to believe, if these people truly mean what they are telling him, then they will all be much stronger than he is and running won't get him very far. He has been defeated even before the battle has begun.
"I want to teach you," the Headmaster tells him, "you can learn to control your powers and become very powerful. If you stay here at this, school and allow yourself to learn under some of the best, I know you will learn to love it here. The first few weeks will take some adjusting, but with help from teachers and students you will be able to make this place your home."
Home...
"What about my parents?" Felix asks.
"Well considering you are a magical being, they have to be. I will be sending some people for them, you will be able to see them and hopefully, they can explain everything to you," the Headmaster answers, standing from his chair and rounding his desk to stand by Felix.
"If you will allow me, I'd like to access the part of your body that controls the magic so I can identify what school you will be in," he states, "from there we can give you the proper books to begin your training."
Felix looks up from his seat and meets the Headmaster's eyes.
If I train, I will become powerful. Powerful enough to break through the barrier, just like those other wizards or sorcerers, whatever they are called. Just as my parents did when they lived here.
Nodding his head, Felix grants the Headmaster his request.
"One more thing before we begin," the Headmaster tells him, "if it is ever brought up, do not tell any of the students where you are from."
With that said, a gentle hand is placed on his shoulder and Felix turns his head to look straight in front of him, admiring the window placed behind the desk. It is nearing the end of summer and fall is at their feet, leaves are browning and falling from the trees, creating a beautiful orange haze.
If my parents wanted to leave, there must be something wrong with this place.
He is not giving up he is fighting back. Wherever this place is, he will find the way out. Whoever comes into his way, he will push past them. If his parents are what they say this man says they are, then they know how to protect themselves. Felix takes a deep breath; I will be with you guys soon.
It only takes a few seconds for the Headmaster to tap into that part of Felix workings, and detect the magic type. It's messy and unorganized pockets pour off the boy, waiting for the wrong person to catch his scent and use it for wrongdoings. Felix is a special case, from a young age, most magic-using children are taught how to contain their abilities, so people would not be able to take advantage and use the unconfined magic to their advantage. As a teenager, Felix's body is the perfect vessel to be taken control over and use as a puppet to the masters every desire.
The hand is removed from Felix's shoulder and the orange-haired male glances away from the window and over to the Headmaster. His eyes follow as he walks back over to his desk and takes a seat. The Headmaster moves his hand over and lifts a small cube that hinges on the back end, revealing a small dark blue button underneath.
The thin fingers press down before the Headmaster speaks, "please get me Kim Minseok."
~•~
Word count: 3,876