Seonghwa sits at the bench, taking in the cold night air. He is the only human around, but he can hear the crickets' conversation with each other. He tries to tune them out, focusing on his own thoughts instead. There is a reason why he is always wary of people from outside; he always believes that they bring in trouble. Now, he cannot stop thinking about Akira and her real intentions of coming to Nyla. He knows that she is hiding something, yet he does not know what. It keeps tugging at him, yet he's not able to pinpoint anything. Akira is not a nobleman. That is as far as he knows. He and Yeosang have seen the colour of her blood when she was bitten by the snake. She must have been here under the queen's orders... but who is she, really?
"Are you listening on to the crickets?" Jongho suddenly appears beside him, still clutching on to his guitar.
"Not really, I'm just thinking about things here and there."
"It must be about Akira, right?" He takes a seat beside him without asking and starts plucking away. "She really is someone interesting. Makes me miss my family back home."
Seonghwa glances at him. "Does your family still not know that you're in Nyla for almost four years now? You're turning 20 soon."
He strums. "No... they still think I'm in Lucida. I should be sending them some money but I'm just not getting any inspiration lately, so money's a bit tight."
"Really, you could ask any one of us, though?"
"Nah, I don't like to trouble anyone. I'm really curious on how my family's doing but I'm too ashamed to go back to Lucida. Even here in Nyla, I'm not really much of a great musician. Remember how I came here because I wanted to become one because I couldn't back in my kingdom? It's not really much of a difference here. I remember coming into the palace 4 years ago and you hated me so much that you wouldn't even talk to me for months. You do have a way of making people question themselves."
Seonghwa bites his lower lip, embarrassed. "It's not that I didn't want to talk to you, but I didn't know how. I guess I just need time to adjust with people from outside because they... scare me."
"You're still thinking about that time... aren't you?"
"I do think about it from time to time, but I'm getting better."
"You're making great progress, Seonghwa. It shows when you're trying your best to communicate with Akira. It's not perfect, but you're getting there."
Seonghwa is reminded of why he started to hate people from outside in the first place. Why he'd rather spend time with plants and animals. Why he believes that people outside of Nyla only brings in misfortune. His darkest memory.
"Some things do take time. You're a great musician, but you just need some inspiration and time," the older says, obviously trying to change the topic.
"You really do flatter people a lot."
"At least that's the best I can do besides talking to plants and animals," he chuckles. "I can at least be a comfort to other people. Other than that, as San has mentioned, I'm not the best at socializing with people."
Jongho taps on his guitar and proceeds to look at the sky. "It's funny how things turn out this way, isn't it? I just wish that one day I can finally return to Lucida, proud of who I am."
Seonghwa looks in the same direction, nodding slowly. "One day it will come to that. It may be near or far, but it definitely will come."
---
Akira keeps tossing and turning in her bed, her mind a mess. The moment she said how there is nothing to be proud of in Lucida to them keeps repeating in her head and she feels as if she has just betrayed the queen's trust in her. Whatever it is, she will always have to put the queen's favour in first place. It doesn't matter what her thoughts are. It doesn't matter what she feels. The queen is always first. After all, Queen Emira is royalty while she, Akira Hwang is only a lowly servant. Why should her thoughts matter? If the queen instructs her to do it, then she must without any questions asked.
But it proves to be hard the moment she steps into Nyla. Something around here just feels... odd. No it's not odd. It is the way they run things here. Lucida is the odd one out. "Ah!" She screams in frustration, standing up straight after she decides she cannot sleep a wink. Even the sight of the painting of the sky makes her stuffy, so she proceeds to throw open the windows. She squints in the dark, noticing two sillhouettes at the garden. She cannot make out who they are, but she is not interested in them. Instead, she looks up into the sky.
Unknowingly, she's staring at the same space in the sky as Jongho and Seonghwa below. But to her, it's only a dark canvas with white specks dotted on it.
Taking in a few deep breaths, she closes her eyes. When she has calmed down, she opens them, shuts the window and climbs into bed once again. It's almost midnight, and if she doesn't sleep now, she might not get enough sleep as tomorrow comes around. Tucking herself under the blanket, she forces herself to drift off. She clears her mind, counting from 1 - a trick that Yunho has taught her to fall asleep - until she cannot count anymore. Back then, she has to do this almost every night because the images of people she killed kept coming to her mind. Now it's better, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get nightmares once in a while.
Yunho's trick always works everytime, and it's the same this time when she feels that she is starting to drift off. As she's about to completely shut herself, her eyes snap back open as she hears a faint sound of her door unlocking. She doesn't move - she doesn't want the unlocker to know that she's awake. Instead, she positions herself so that she's able to see who's entering. Who could it be? She's sure that the people of Nyla wouldn't barge into her room, especially without her permission. Unless...
While still lying down, she sees the doorknob jiggling slightly, showing that someone is indeed unlocking her door. She stealthily pulls open the drawer beside her, careful not to make any noise and as quick as lightning, snatches the dagger to hide it underneath the blanket. The doorknob jiggles with her every heart beat, until there is a final click. Whoever is behind that door has finally managed to unlock it. Tightening her grip, she adjusts her body so that she is able to spring up from the bed when the time is right.
She sees no familiar face - it is again someone hiding behind a mask and a hat, trying to conceal his - or her - own identity. She cannot really tell, but most likely the person is wearing all-black. She anticipates the intruder's next move when she sees him reach out for the nearest pillow, aiming to cover her face with it. As the pillow goes down near her face, she unleashes her dagger and slices it across the pillow, spilling out the cotton onto her face. Blowing the mess out of her face, she snatches the torn pillow out of the intruder's grip and throws it to the side. She kicks the intruder's stomach, hard, and he falls backward, landing with a faint thump on the wooden floor.
Spinning the dagger in her hand, she proceeds to plunge the dagger, aiming for the person's chest. Instead, he rolls away to avoid it in the nick of time. With the dagger stuck on the ground, he takes the opportunity to stand up and kick her back. Her breath is knocked out of her as she stops herself from knocking her head on the floor. She looks over the shoulder to see something shiny - definitely something she's accustomed to - a sword. She quickly thinks of any way to escape.
If she ever runs out into the hallways, there is a possibility that the intruder might catch up to her. Since her bedroom is housed at a building separate from the main one, she is sure that no one is around here. Even the servants are housed at the main building. In short, she is alone with the intruder and she cannot call anyone for help. Or, she could fight back, but she doesn't know how long she can stand only with the dagger. No, she can. That is why Yunho gave her the dagger - because he trusts that she can protect herself with it.
She pulls the dagger from the wooden floor, spins around and aims for his foot. He definitely has an advantage - the sword can reach out further than her dagger. The only way she can outdo him is with speed. She reaches out for the wooden chair at the corner and throws with all her might at him. It lands perfectly, but only for a while as he is already straightening himself back up, stomping towards her. She stands up, looking around for anything else that can be thrown but to no avail. The bedroom is empty besides the bed and the wall clock. This intruder is definitely a trained one. A soldier of Nyla?
Even with all the ruckus, she is pretty sure that no one hears it. She is too far from other people. But wait - she remembers that there are two people at the garden. She hopes that she might be able to call them out, at least getting their attention. However, this might prove to be hard as she's at the farthest corner from the window. The intruder's back is towards the window and he's now advancing towards her, raising his sword. She then thinks of an idea. It might be a stupid one, but her life is in danger nevertheless.
She loosens her grip on the dagger, all the while praying that her strategy is going to work. When she thinks that the time is right, she throws the dagger towards the intruder. Although he avoids it and the dagger gets stuck to the wall near the window, she manages to distract him for a few seconds. Using this as an opportunity, she jumps over the bed and quickly reaches out her hands, unlatching the windows. She is about to shout into the open, but he grabs her hair and she is forced to turn herself around. She looks into the eyes of the intruder - is this what the people felt when she is moments away from killing them?
Staring at each other, Akira tries with all her might to identify who the eyes belong to. No one comes to her mind. The intruder tightens his grip around her neck, draining her of oxygen. She feels her breath becoming shorter and shallower, as she desperately tries to undo his grip. Her body is halfway out of the window. Her brain is about to shut down from the lack of oxygen, but she manages to think... I'm on the second floor. What are the odds?
She takes the chance. Whatever happens next, she doesn't care.
Using her last bit of strength, she curses while kicking his groin. Before that, he slices his sword across her stomach, tearing her clothes and managing to lacerate her skin. He reels back, shouting in pain under his mask. Definitely a guy. However as he lets go of her, she loses balance and falls out. She doesn't have the time to latch onto anything, and she closes her eyes as she feels her body falling against the wind. She braces herself for the fall. Pain shoots up in her whole body as she finds ground, but no sound comes out. She is too tired from all of the mess. As she looks up, she sees the intruder looking out, but leaves soon after, possibly escaping.
The last words she hears before blacking out are exclamations from Jongho and Seonghwa urgently asking him to go look for Yeosang.
But even then, she's unsure.