WHITE

I wake up breathing soft sunlight.

Then a clink of metal against wood resounds next to me, and I blink dazedly at the girl setting a tray of food down on the table.

"I hope you don't mind I've changed your clothes from— the dress." She says with a cough, and I look down to find myself in a soft nightgown. "I've already set out a bath for you."

"Who—"

My fingers tingle, and I close my hands into a fist at the sharp memory of V and his Blessing of pain.

"Your maid." She curtsies, and I just sit there stunned as she waves at the envelopes on the tray of food. "Empress Amber ordered specifically you read those first."

There are two.

The first one I pick up is cream-colored, plain except for the intricate Empress' seal. What I find inside is closer to a note than a letter.

V will be your mentor in bettering your Blessing and Siren for your manners. Expect to perform at the Trials in three months' time.

Empress Amber

I don't stop to wonder what even in the heck were the Trials supposed to be before I stand still, my fingers hovering over the next envelope.

V?

The same V as yesterday?

Chaos and confusion finally snaps me awake from my daze, and I turn to the maid still standing next to the bed I'm lying on.

"Where am I?"

"Amber Palace, of course." She replies, waving at the lush forests outside the wide windows.

So that wasn't all a dream?

Groaning softly into my hands, I drag my finger through the other envelope, thinking the best. At least I hadn't been captured and have my head put on a spike.

The scent of bittersweet reaches me before anything else. I already have an idea who had written this dark-tinged letter, who had fewer words than the one from the Empress.

Winter wing. Eleven.

V

I find myself staring at the elegant script, my brows raised as I flip the paper front and back. But there's nothing else, and I toss both back onto the tray.

I needed a bath first.

________________________

With my hair up in a loose ponytail, I walk around the Palace like a lost roaming sheep.

The cool linen dress felt comfortable, worth arguing and pleading with Mira for a straight hour. The lightweight fabric danced between my legs as I wandered the halls, searching for Winter Wing.

Which I had no idea where it was.

After what seemed to be like forever walking aimlessly through the empty halls, I stop in the middle of a large corridor.

Frustration bubbles through my throat, but the curse breaks out in surprise with a sudden tapping on my shoulder.

"Dammit!"

Then I clap my hands over my lips, and whip around to stare at the stunned face of a hazel-eyed man. His hair is a soft black, and my eyes widen as his thin lips part.

"I-I'm so sorry!" I yelp, brushing down my plain dress and trying to curtsy like I'd seen others do.

Trying— because I trip and fall to the ground before I can even bow my head.

Warmth begins to settle in my cheeks, expecting mocking words and maybe a scornful stare next.

But the man bursts into laughter, and I slowly look up as he offers me a hand. His surprised lips from before are now stretched into an easy, charming smile.

"Don't apologize, my lady." He says smoothly as he helps me get back to my feet. "It's been a long time since I've laughed like that. How can I thank you?"

His doe eyes sparkle.

"You could tell me where Winter wing is." I suggest, noticing the sudden shift in his warm features.

"Winter Wing?" He repeats, his face paling. "Are you talking about V's residence? Please tell me at least you were invited."

"I am." I reply, wincing when I remember the three words he'd given me. "He's going to mentor my Blessing. Because apparently I can't heal a single person without collapsing like an—"

"You're a Healer?"

"Yeah....?" I drag carefully as I look up at his widened eyes. "I know it can heal, but what's the point if I can only mend  cuts and small burns?"

"You are the first Healer the Council has seen."

"Is that a good thing?"

His charming smile is back. "A very good thing, Miss. Follow me— Winter Wing isn't far from here."

I can't help but feel I've found a friend among the cold, icy Council as he walks me until the front of a large staircase. When he bows deeply and turns away, I  whip around in surprise and call out.

"Wait!"

"Yes?" He asks politely, an amused smile hanging crookedly upon the corner of his lips. "I'm afraid I can't go with you beyond this point— although I would love to."

"I— uh, never got your name."

The smile grows wider.

"Jungkook." He replies, his doe eyes sparkling. "But that is just our secret. For my Blessing, I am called Scythe."

________________________

"You're late."

"Sorry." I say, taken aback. I'd thought he'd been sleeping, but his eyes, a vibrant green ringed with a faded amber silver, narrows at my figure.

"Sorry doesn't change anything, demoiselle." He rasps harshly, his deep voice bitter and dark. "Let that be your first lesson."

"Why are you my mentor?" I blurt out, and his brilliant stare slash towards my face. "Our Blessings are polar to each other. I heal, and you—"

Then I stop, gaze fixing on his unblemished neck. The burns from before have disappeared.

"Give pain." He says lowly, and I nod. "My Blessing is the most similar to yours— not in what it does, but how it works."

"Sit down."

Confusion marks my features when I seat myself down on the cold floor, and V drops his head back on the pillow. His eyes close, and I blink slowly for five times.

"What— am I supposed to do?"

"Discipline. Don't move a single inch." He whispers, voice monotone. "And stop asking questions. Don't speak."

My brows cross as he falls silent again, heart-shaped lips parted with sleep.

He's really beautiful.

Watching his tense expression peaceful and unmoving, I close my eyes as well. It would've been better if I had a back rest, but I'd often fell asleep like this.

It wasn't a problem, until pain cuts down the side of my shoulder.

"Ow!"

"I said don't move a single inch." V's silk black voice echo as he takes his hand off my shoulder. My teeth clench— when had he even gotten here from there?

"This is stupid."

Another flash of agony shocks me into silence as he touches the back of my neck. It was like getting cut with the cold edge of a knife before, but this pain was like getting electrocuted.

"Don't move."

"I'm not." I hiss through my teeth, hate pulsing through me like fire. "And can you stop touching me— it hurts."

"Then don't make me." He growls, eyes burning. "Until you are perfectly still, don't think this is the last time."

Cursing through my breath, I fall as motionless as I can make my body go. V steps back, the intensity of him turning my fingertips cold.

"Good, demoiselle."