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They say modern life lacks flair. It lacks whimsy and magic. I agree. Why else would short online novels pique my interest, why else would I be looking at a section of children’s books in the middle of the work day debating on which cover was better. Picking one up I scrolled through the pages: once again it would be a story of friendship or love, of overcoming challenges in a way that was so unrealistic it made you question why it couldn’t have been you. Maybe I too didn’t want to have an office job? Maybe I would do better as a knight, a scholar or a priest who guides the lost main protagonist through their journey? Yes, taking the main spotlight of a chosen one was definitely not for me, no, let’s not be greedy. A nail that sticks out gets hammered down. A princess that chases after frogs in search of a prince is cursed by a witch herself. I would be quite content in my stable magical 9 to 5 with perks.
‘Now that’s sad…’
I can’t even dream of whimsy properly.
Picking a few books up without as much as glancing at the covers, I walked to the check out and awkwardly smiled at the cashier who quickly scanned the purchases.
“Oh, we have a deal for children’s literature for if you buy above 40 000 won you can get a small prize. Would you like to try? The selection is quite cute, your kid will like it!”
“Right,” I averted my eyes, still trying not to be too weird about it. “Yeah sure, why not.”
She smiled and pointed at a small wheel I had not spotted before under the card reader. It was even placed for the kids to reach it without help…
I pushed the arrow and watched it spin between differently coloured sections. Yellow, red, pink, green, yellow, red, pink…
“Ah there you go! It’s quite small but very cute!”
I extended my arm and felt something light and soft drop into the palm of my hand: tiny pink rabbit keychain.
‘It is quite cute…’ I thought, rubbing my fingers against the soft fur and little bead eyes.
“Perhaps, if you kiss it, it will turn into a handsome prince!”
“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked again, feeling regret at skipping lunch as dizziness washed over me.
“I mean, isn’t that how these stories usually go?”
My knees shook a little, giving in as I slid onto the floor, trying to grab onto the desk but missing, my arm hitting the little arrow on the wheel again. Trying to take deep breaths, I looked to the side, watching it spin, spin spin….
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
In a land far, far away… I opened my eyes and took a deep breath of air, squinting my eyes adjusting to the darkness around me. Picking myself up from the floor, I sat up and felt in the back of my head that I perhaps was no longer checking out books. Looking around on the cold stone floor softened only slightly by the old carpet I saw no sign of my bag, money, coat or anything. Except…
I opened my instinctively clutched fist and saw the messed up fur of my new plush friend slightly dampened with sweat. The moment I reached out to soothe it, a loud bang shook me to the core. I jumped, turning around to the sight of an open door: the light from the outside illuminated the dark silhouette of a tall man whose eyes seemed to glow ominous yellow. My mind, surprisingly quick to wake up after the shock, raced at the sight:
Where am I?
I looked around quickly, afraid to look away from the person in the room for too long. In the light from the corridor behind the door different peculiar shapes rose from the darkness: glass bulbs, shelves with books, long tables clattered with long scrolls of papers and melted wax candles. I definitely was no longer in the book store. Instinctively, I squeezed the toy in my hand only to feel my fingers dig into my skin.
Where did it go?
Who is this man?
I looked up at the silent figure whose yellow eyes watched me intently, analysing, waiting. Oddly enough, that gaze was equally terrifying and… laidback. Were they waiting for me to speak? Mastering my courage, I opened my mouth.
“Excuse me, I am not sure how I got here…”
The yellow eyes opened wider, then almost closed down as if the owner lost all interest immediately.
“Or where ‘here’ actually is…” I added, not daring to stand up.
The figure watched me unmoving, until it finally spoke:
“What’s your name?”
Startled by the soft voice bearing a bit of an odd inhuman growl to it, I choked on my words, coughing a little.
“Kim Soleum. I am sorry if I am trespassing, I just-”
There was no way to continue. Something behind the man shifted in the light, his silhouette blurring a little before it twisted and grew, the yellow eyes still fixed on me as his shadow towered above him, opening its own eyes to freeze me on the spot. Two, four, six eyes opened shining bright yellow into the room. With a low growl, the man took a step, and another. I felt like my limbs gave up on me, my body frozen in place, only my eyes moving to watch the bright red rope wrap around the man’s arm.
“Apologies in advance.”
Before I could say anything, the rope was tossed onto me, tightening around me like a snake, my consciousness dimming under the pressure of the unknown forces.
I was definitely no longer in the book store.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Life can be full of surprises. A surprise birthday party? A bonus at work? A gift from a friend? Dropping into a world where magic and reality blurred into one another under the influence of a careless wish?
‘My luck…’
I looked in the mirror, the intricately embroidered black velvet shimmering in the dim candlelight. It looked quite good on me, if we ignored that wearing something like that would normally lead me on stage in an opera house. I sighed, turning around, trying not to think how much this gown would cost me if I ruined it. Not like I had a choice.
Two weeks ago I fell into this world, awakening in a basement alchemy lab deep under the main castle. Tied up by the inhuman security personnel and brought up upstairs, I thought to myself about those stories I only vaguely heard about. Would that be the time I was presented to the royalty and told about my great divine purpose in this world. Would they tell me I needed to defeat a dragon, save a princess and forever record myself in the local history as a hero to be remembered for millennia? It didn’t sound too bad, but…
‘That’s just terrifying…’
Being a hero only suits someone who can even imagine approaching something like a fire breathing lizard for closer than 500 meters…
As the security guard walked me upstairs, quite respectfully and only lightly holding the end of the red restraining rope, I felt sweat drip under my collar as I weighed my possibilities. Should I accept getting sent off to be disposed of as cannon fodder or wait for a corridor turn, kicking the security guard and running for my life?
“Don’t,” the man’s voice startled me. “They won’t hurt you.”
‘Who are they?’ was the only thought in my head as I pushed away the unnerving sense of the man reading through my intentions.
As the corridors ended, as we ascended numerous flights of stairs, the man pulled at the rope, forcing me to stop.
“I can’t go further, but they will come pick you up now,” the man said, holding the rope, gazing further into the half lit hallway, his body covered in the shadows of the stairs as if unable to even take a step out of the darkness. At the steps behind us, something shifted, growling softly, making the hairs on my back rise up.
Before I knew it, footsteps echoed through the empty hallways. Turning around, I saw three people walk up, their bodies clad fully in black with just silver patterns forming around their collars and ends of the sleeves, glimmering in the dim light.
“A new arrival?” the tallest of the three spoke and I felt words in my mouth press onto my throat, almost making me bend in half, throwing up.
‘The dragon.’
How was it supposed to be so fast? I just got here, and two bright red eyes were already watching me intently, the man with the dragon head towering over me. I instinctively took a step backwards, everything inside me twisting with fear as my foot slipped off the steps, my whole body tumbling downwards.
‘Maybe that’s for the better…’ I thought as the room in front of me blurred in the fall.
Something caught me, holding me in the air as the man pulled me up with the red rope.
“He doesn’t seem… dangerous?” one of the three, a woman, approached and looked me up and down, her blue eyes piercing through me as I struggled to get up, leveling myself with the rest, my breath hard and ragged.
“I am just doing as I’m told,” the guard said. “He appeared in the underground alchemy lab. He is an outterworlder.”
At those words, the eyes all turned to me. The dragon squinted, the woman chuckled and the third member of the group hesitantly waved at me.
“I guess, we will be taking over now.”
The people who picked me up answered my questions as much as they could. Long story short, there was no glory to be found, no dragon to be slain, no princess to be saved. Instead…
“Just some evil warding expeditions here and there,” knight Park Minseong said as he handed me the uniform and a bag. “You will get a hang of it quickly.”
The Commander dragon watched as I rummaged through the bag.
“Evil… warding?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed, finding the bag to only contain simple rations and parchment with pencils. The whole process felt so… bureaucratic.
“This happens, from time to time,” Eun Haje held her small pipe near a candle, replying to my unspoken questions. “Merchant sons, amateur wizards, ah even if you are a ghoul it doesn’t make a difference. It’s our squad’s turn to take on a recruit, so welcome.”
‘Recruit? Wait, so they really mean it?’
“To ward evil? But I…” Immediately, I shut my mouth. If they said it was their turn on a recruit, didn’t that mean the previous merchants, wizards and ghouls had died on duty… My mind sprang into action, thinking of how to better avoid the same fate. Casting a quick glance at the dragon and a young man opening a small metal window frame to let the tobacco smoke out, I realised something. I knew nothing about this world, and even after having spent mere half an hour here I already met a dragon and a growling shadow. If there was a way for me to survive, I needed to stick to those who both summoned me and could protect me.
‘Ugh…’
“Don’t worry,” Park Minseong lightly clapped me on my shoulder. “I can tell you will do great!”
Today was my first day on official duty.
I left the small room assigned to me quickly early, hoping I would be able to find my way to the appointed meeting place that I had been shown previously. Having spent two weeks on general introduction, I dreaded the approach of today with steel freezing in my heart the closer I got to it. The three familiar figures stood at the entrance to the courtyard, turning to look at me when my rapid footsteps and heavy breathing finally caught up.
“Excited, Roe?”
I looked at Park Minseong confused as he laughed and handed me something wrapped in cloth. As I carefully unwrapped it, a dark wooden mask with antlers glimmered in the candlelight that barely illuminated the late evening hallway. I twisted and turned the mask around, noticing the others holding theirs: a falcon, a badger and… a dragon.
“Why a deer?” was all I could ask.
“It was the last one left, don’t worry, they don’t really mean anything,” Eun Haje looked at me, putting her mask on. I subconsciously looked at Commander Lee Jaheon, who was holding the mask that I was not even sure he could properly put on.
‘So, is it a coincidence in his case?’
“Well, maybe later they will let you pick another, but I think it would look good on you,” the knights reassured me as Park Minseong put his on.
Reluctant, I picked the mask and trailed my fingers over the smooth polished surface before adjusting it onto my face. It fit nicely, my hair dropping over the antlers. I had no mirror so all I could do was rely on the approving smiles of my colleagues.
“It is time to move,” the dragon said, moving closer to the exit of the dormitory, as I trailed behind, the thought of running away still lingering in my brain. In all those stories I’d read the power of friendship was the omnipotent power capable of overcoming all the problems in its way. Surely, I was safe…
Three horses were waiting for us outside. Swallowing my embarrassment, I accepted Park Minseong’s arm and hopped onto the bigger stallion supported by his hands from behind.
“Sorry, Roe, but this will have to do for now,” he smiled awkwardly apologetic for the fact that their squad did not have a fourth horse at the moment. I was, however, relieved to know my lack of horse riding experience wouldn’t be the end of me this soon. Sitting up and holding onto the knight’s cape, I closed my eyes, feeling the steady movement of the animal under me, the pleasant rustling of the wind on my face.
I was utterly terrified.
The squad was one of the many groups who risked their lives keeping the dark spirit away from the capital, not without monetary gain. When I was told I would be joining, my first thought was of a great dungeon with chests full of gold and potions, however…
“It really is just an ordinary parole,” Falcon said as our horse leveled with hers. “We will do the work, you can just watch and stay careful.”
I twisted and turned in my seat, careful not to fall, fully unaware of what was to come…
In the dim light of the evening, the thick forest around us seemed to grow, enveloping the sky above, the branches embracing us on our path like fingers, holding us away from escaping. The deep dark forest welcomed us with the pitch black darkness of the night, keeping even the faint moonlight away from us. The knights pulled out a few jars from their pockets, releasing small fireflies into the air to float around them, each tied neatly with a slim silver chain to the bottle’s handle.
“These are useful, but have quite a demeanour,” Park Minseong chuckled, as his flies swirled around his face, almost as if trying to blind him.
“You will get yours too, Roe,” Falcon said, her lights behaving much nicer. “They tame after a while, but since they long for their original owners, for the first few moons their spirits are reckless."
“Previous owners?” I asked, immediately kicking myself for such open curiosity.
“The outlaws,” the dragon said. “They employ small spirits to perform miracles for them. You would be wise to avoid them.”
I wanted to ask more, but the horses puffed and slowed down, refusing to move.
“We are here,” Falcon said, jumping from her horse, her long black cape enveloping her figure, almost hiding it in the dark.
I climbed down and followed as the group went deeper into the woods. Barely keeping up, I realised they must have done this plenty of times, considering they could find their way so easily. That gave me a glimmer of hope.
“Now, Roe, all you need to do is make it through the night. As soon as the clock hits twelve, we leave through the main doors, don’t be late.”
I nodded even though I knew Badger could not see me.
“And one more thing,” Falcon started, but the sound of her voice got drowned in the rustling of the bushes as he walked through the dense greenery. I felt branches hitting me on the mask, leaving painful itching marks on my face. “Whatever happens, don’t talk to anyone, no matter what they say or offer. No one.”
At those words I felt my heart race, feeling like I needed to know more, but the moment I opened my mouth, I closed it in awe. Through the greenery, as the Commander pushed the leaves away, golden light shone at us, almost blinding in the darkness around.
I pushed the branches away and looked at the massive mansion lit up to shine golden in the night. Magic stones entrapped in metal lanterns beamed onto the brick walls like spotlights, reflecting in the tall glass windows, casting colourful sparks into the luscious garden surrounding the building. One by one, extravagant carriages drove towards the main gaits that opened for the guests in the long capes to enter.
“We are going in,” the Commander said, signaling the rest to follow. I adjusted his mask and stepped further, careful not to slip from the small cliff they descended.
As we approached the gates, I noticed half transparent silhouettes with masks covering their faces standing guard, pushing the heavy metal doors open, their movements synchronous and well rehearsed. Instinctively, I bowed lightly before straightening up and sneaking into the yard among my companions, our dark capes hiding us from the blinding lights.
It was almost blinding, the lights, the music, the sounds of whispering of the guests, flooding into my mind not in a form of sound but rather as a sensation. I shivered lightly, reminding myself what Falcon told me.
Don’t talk to anyone.
The guests, gracefully passing by, the fabrics of their dresses and suits glimmering in the night, paid us no mind, leading us into the massive manor. I tried to avoid meeting anyone’s gaze, looking down, but inevitably, the faint laughter, a brief touch on my shoulder, a random melody - the cacophony of experiences pulled me deeper and deeper into the kaleidoscope of the bizarre masquerade. The figures were closing in on me, briefly turning their masks to look at me, losing interest, only for a new wave of a hand to lure me aside. My eyes, darting between the lights and the shapes, tried desperately to seek the familiar dark cloaks, only now realising what they were truly for: in this unsteady sea of gold and dazzle, I felt myself suffocating, desperate to grab onto something familiar before the current of the unknown washes me away.
“You look magnificent.”
“Why are your eyes so big?”
I push aside, trying to shrink on the spot, careful not to touch anyone or anything.
“What a lovely child.”
An arm extended towards me, cutting my escape. In the long bony fingers with peeling flesh, a bright red apple shone in the lights, almost mesmerising.
“Take a bite, child.”
I felt myself swallowing, my mouth watering just at the sight of it, fingers reaching to touch the fruit before I shook myself noting a dark silhouette in the back. Badger held his hands out, visibly shaking as the small children-like figures clinged onto his arms, pulling him into a dance. As they passed by, I could not resist trying to catch his attention, but Park Minseong didn’t even as much as lifted his head, led by the small creatures whose pig masks were oddly flesh coloured. The moment I saw stitches under their wet bulging eyes, I looked away, swallowing a scream, trying to steady my breathing.
Badger and four pigs… something about it looked familiar.
I walked away, passing by a massive glass sculpture resembling arms holding a chalice, champagne flowing down to shimmer in the light. Looking for a less crowded area, I half ascended to the second floor balcony, afraid to stay off limits or too far from my companions.
Now, I could see both Badger and Falcon downstairs in the sea of gold: one surrounded by the small figures and the other leaning closer to a woman in a veil. I squinted, trying to find the Dragon, but the more I tried to focus on the figures downstairs, the more everything would become a blur. It felt like the music grew louder, the bass of the trumpets cutting right into my skull. My mouth, suddenly feeling so parched, ached as I took shaky breaths, my hands gripping hard onto the marble railing of the staircase. In the noise, glitter and chaos, I truly felt like I was suffocating, drowning in an odd sensation of my own face melting under the heat of the night. I reached out to my face, my fingers tracing over the smooth surface of the wood, sending an odd tickling feeling right into my brain. It almost felt like touching…
My own skin.
I almost crawled down the stairs, slow, careful, feeling my legs nearly giving up towards the end. I leaned closer to a wall, feeling the pressure on my face grow, the desire to pull the mask off so strong, my fingers instinctively scratched at the edges of it, painful against my reddened skin.
‘I need to get out…’
I ran through the room, but the laughing masks obstructed my path, hands reaching to touch me, pulling me aside. Reluctant to shake them off, I simply ran, running wherever it was less crowded, feeling their laughter behind me. None of the knights were around, but all I wanted was to break free. Slipping into a darker area, I leaned onto a column, trying to catch my breath a little when everything around went eerily quiet. In the dark, in silence, I heard the pumping of my blood in my head, loud and persistent. For a moment there, it was the only sound reminding me of the nightmare I was in.
[Esteemed guests!]
The music roared, shaking me to my bones. The violins, the drums, the pipes: all made me groan under my breath as I pushed myself to move.
[The thank you for joining us to-]
I pushed through a set of doors, feeling the cold air bite at my face. Relieved, like a drowning man taking the first gasp of air, my entire body heated up, bending in half, causing my legs to shake and hands drop down, grasping into the velvet of my coat. The way the noise and music cut from behind me into complete silence was so unnatural, it sent a shiver down my spine, cooling my heated body into a cold tremble. Turning around, I stared at the open doors leading to the gold and glimmer, warmth and laughter, hesitant and almost reluctant to let go. My companions were there… the knights whom I’d only barely met and still… they were the only people I had. The only guidance. And I left them behind despite the trust put into me. I left them. I should go back. I shou-
‘No.’
I snapped back to my senses barely a step away from the door, my hand on the handle, warmed by the odd sensation radiating from the mansion itself. I stepped away, hands reaching to the mask, feeling that familiar itch coming back. Whatever it was we came for was luring me in, like a siren, only wrapping its golden net around me the more I struggled to escape.
Calmly, I let go of the mask and ran down the stairs of the terrace, pushing through the empty garden that stood silent only barely lit in the moonlight. The backyard felt desolate in contrast with the flashy front facade and the magic lights that illuminated this otherwise dark forest into a dazzling show-like set. For me, it was only more relieving, I craved an escape without straying too far into the dark woods I had been warned about.
“It is an entertaining labyrinth of darkness that each has its own way to make you never return,” Falcon had told me, pulling her glove down and showing a deep scar on her discoloured wrist.
“Whatever you see there, whoever you speak with - they are not human and do not see you as a friend, Roe,” Badger would add, still trying to smile, holding back a darker truth behind his words.
Thinking about them left behind, I stopped in my tracks, realising I was almost on the edge of the backyard: the thick bushes lightly scratching my arms. Stepping back, I realised that losing sense of myself even for a moment just gives this dark magic a way to charm me.
‘Ugh…’
Looking around, I found a nook with a small structure peeking between rose bushes. At a closer look, it was an old well, built with simple stone bricks, almost standing out from the rest of the grand garden. Recalling all the warnings of my companions and my own instincts, I watched it from afar, almost expecting something to crawl out and drag me in. But moments passed and only the cold breeze ruffled my hair, reminding me of the odd sensation on my face. As the clouds above me passed, the surface of the well glimmered in the reflected moonlight, shining a mystic and alluring light. It really was ominous how everything here seemed to watch, listen and call to me…
Carefully, I walked up and threw a small flower I found on the ground into the water, which unnaturally for a well, filled it to the brim. The water swirled lightly in ripples and calmed down, carrying the petals in a soft motion. With a bit of relief, I walked up and leaned above it.
My figure, dark against the moonlight, looked almost fully black: a tall figure in a cape with distorted features and antlers sprouting from the head, shifting lightly in the water ripples. I felt my own heart sink at the image, reaching to the mask, wanting nothing more than to see my own human face. As my fingers dug into the corners of the mask, I pulled, feeling the burning sensation return, aching and pulling my skin along with the mask as if the two were stuck together. Still, the feeling of the cold air slowly leaking in made me squint my eyes in pain and only pull harder, feeling my forehead finally free from the grasp, wet with sweat and something that dropped onto the water, dissolving immediately into a dark smoky cloud.
‘Oh god…’
I shut my eyes completely, scared to see my reflection when the rest of the mask came off: hot and sticky in my hands. I tossed it away onto the ground and felt my face with my trembling fingers, feeling a familiar sensation of a tactite touch on the cooling goo that covered my skin. Carefully, I knelt down, finding the wall of the well without opening my eyes and dipping my hands into the cold water, the feeling of it light on my skin. Even if it’s a sacred spring or something along those lines, right at that moment, all I cared for was to see my own face untainted by whatever was slowly drying on my skin as if forming a new mask. I splash the water on my face and felt it melt, dripping down on the ground and my clothes, but it mattered little. Finally, I scrubbed my eyes and opened them, staring at the muddy water, slowly swirling and cleaning itself, my familiar face appearing in the reflection through the cloudy smokiness: pale and exhausted, but so familiar…
[Quite impressive, isn’t it?]
At the voice nearby, I tumbled down, my back hitting the ground as I crawled away from the well.
[You were so determined to get rid of your mask I almost thought you despised it!]
I looked around, trying to see someone behind the well, but all there was was darkness and silhouettes of rose bushes and trees. I jumped to my feet and backed away until my back hit a tree, causing me to grab onto the bark, feeling my fingers dig into it.
[How relieved I am that you decided to keep such stunning ornaments to yourself. They really do suit you, Friend!]
Finally, something shifted a little right next to the well. Something quite small, barely half a height of the stone wall.
“Who’s there?”
Before I could shut myself, I asked, immediately covering my mouth in fear. I spoke to it. I spoke to the creature of the dark.
For a brief moment, silence enveloped the night, only the rustling of the leaves in the wind measuring the passage of time before the voice spoke again, quieter than before.
[This Friend is as kind as he is charming, indulging my humble self in a conversation.]
In the dark, the shape moved a little, small and almost perfectly round.
“I-,” I started, feeling like there was no way out of this now that I had already spoken once. “I would be even kinder if whoever I indulge would show themselves.”
Calling whatever it was to me was risky, but having it hide in the shadows felt worse.
[My oh my, where are my manners! You are absolutely right!]
With a hop, a figure emerged, landing onto the side of the well, lit up in the moonlight.
“A rabbit?”
I could not hold myself, staring at a small shape of a wild rabbit: soft fur glimmered in the light, ears moving lightly to the side at my voice, two small beady eyes watching me intently and a silken ribbon tied around its neck into a bowtie. The innocence of this creature only gave me an eerie reminder of where I was. Do not trust anyone or anything you meet in these woods.
[Why, of course, one might think this Braun to be just a simple rabbit, but I can assure you, Friend, there is quite a lot I can offer that puts those lowly beasts to shame.]
The rabbit sat up, its paws curled and head tilted lightly to the side.
[May this Braun know how to address his new Friend with such wonderful antlers? After all, such is common curt-]
“Antlers?”
I felt my heart sink to my stomach. In one jump, I rushed back to the well, startling the rabbit away. Leaning above the water, I looked at my own silhouette: dark cloak wrapping around my shoulders with embroidery shining in the moonlight, my own messy hair and… a pair of protruding ink black antlers, just like the ones on the mask. Shaken, I fell on my knees, slowly raising my hands to touch the antlers, afraid to confirm they were there. The moment my fingertips grazed the cool surface, a wave of an odd sensation tickled through my skin. Just like with the mask, it felt like an extension of my own skin…
[Quite charming, aren’t they?]
I looked to the side, seeing the rabbit climb back up, now sitting quite close to me, its eyes studying my face intently.
“What is this?” I asked a talking rabbit, chasing the absurdity of it away.
[This? Oh, Friend, it is but a simple curse, what else?]
I watched the rabbit’s snout sniff closer before he backed away, sitting quietly.
[It suits you quite well! Almost as if you were meant f-]
“How do I get rid of this?!” I barely held myself from screaming, not willing to anger this being that had otherwise been so far friendly to me.
[Get rid? Why would you, Friend? Trust this Braun’s judgement when I say they look splendid on you! You really should walk back into that place: all eyes would be on you, my star of the night!]
I stared silently at it before it dawned on me:
“Strot back? Have you been watching me this whole time?”
The rabbit sat up, tilting its head.
[Forgive this Braun’s intrusion, Friend, but I hope you can understand just how eager one gets for companionship when banished from a splendor right before his eyes.]
At those words, Braun turned to look at the mansion and I, following his gaze, realised once again just how gloomy this part of the garden was, hidden from eyes.
“Why are you not there?” I asked, seeing the rabbit snap from a melancholic through.
[In this regard we truly are quite alike, Sir Roe Deer,] he said, making me shiver at the name, reminded of my team behind in the manor. I cast my gaze on my mask, tossed aside and forgotten, reluctant to even attempt putting it back on to go back.
“In what way?”
[We are both cursed and cut from returning to our rightful place, too immersed in our roles,] the rabbit hopped onto the ground and hit the mask with his paw.
I unwillingly smiled at the sight.
“A curse, you say?” I thought out loud, recalling how it was a classic cliche in fairy tails.
[Indeed! But while yours granted you such envy inducing antlers, I was reduced to nothing more than this lowly form, you see? Go on, Friend, humour me.]
The sight of his ear dropping got a chuckle out of me, and I quickly covered it with a cough. Here I was, cursed and with a talking animal companion.
“How could I, inflicted with a curse myself, humour you, Braun?”
At the sound of his name, the rabbit looked up, almost tumbling on his back legs, hopping a bit closer to me.
[Friend, are you perhaps not quite fond of this new form of yours?]
I nodded.
[Would you want to return back to your old self, abandoning this mask you are stuck with?]
I looked at the mask on the ground behind Braun, reaching to pick it up. In my arms it once again felt like just a piece of polished wood, but the sensation of it dripping onto my face was still fresh on my skin.
[Given a role to play, a good performer can always say no and seek a role much more befitting their talent! And I can tell you are meant for much greater roles, Friend!]
The rabbit ran a circle around me before settling near my leg. I sighed, putting the mask into my bag.
“If I were to get rid of this, how would I do that?”
[It is not as difficult as it sounds, but it would require guidance! Luckily for you, Sir Roe Deer, you have a perfect guide right by your side!]
Guidance, I thought, looking deeper into the woods. In fairy tales I had read before the main character would embark on a dangerous adventure held back by the dark forces, only to be guided to salvation by their companion. However, looking at the dark thick forest in front of me, I knew it was not the case.
“Braun, you are a spirit like the ones in the manor, aren’t you?”
The rabbit shifted uneasily near me.
[Would that cloud your judgement of whether to accept my offer or not?]
In truth, it would, I thought.
“No, there is barely another choice for me at this moment.”
It was a harsh truth that made his ears fall a little.
[My Friend is as honest as he is cruel, but so is life itself. Indeed, Sir, I once attended the festivities inside the same way as you just did. And just like you I was chased away by horrors that banished me from returning. Ever since, for many moons, I sat in this garden hoping one night a soul would wander this abandoned part of it.]
‘Chased away by horrors…’
I reached and touched Braun’s fur, soft under my fingers, causing him to jump a little.
[Friend?]
“If I take you out of here, you swear to guide me until we both are free from the curse?”
Braun shifted under my touch, standing up on his back legs and placing one of his front paws on my hand.
[Solemly so!]
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
[It really is quite comfortable here, Friend!]
Braun’s voice, a little muffled by the fabric of the bag, comes before he shows his head through the opening. Curled in, he shifted a little, adjusting to his new confinement.
“Sorry, it will be easier to move this way, and I would not like to… lose you and mistake you for someone else…”
[Someone else?]
Admittedly, it would be the worst of outcomes to come across another rabbit and be let astray. Granted, I thought, there was no guarantee Braun was not leading me to my demise to begin with.
“Ready?” I ignored his question and stepped to the old rusty gates in the back of the garden.
[More than ever, my dear knight!]
With a light push, the gate swung open and shadows outstretched from the forest, dropping onto my shoes, sending a chill through my bones. Gathering what little courage I had, I stepped in, enveloped in the pitch black of the night.
/
“Is it far?” I asked after just a short walk.
The way the thick branches of tall trees covered the forest left no way for the moonlight to reach us. Braun’s ears twitched a little as he was observing my floating lights I released from the jar given to me by the knights.
[It is impossible to say, Friend. There is no such thing as time or distance in this forest. Everything is connected and so is everyone. Our destination is only as far away as we will allow it to be!]
I wanted to curse under my breath, already tired of the riddle-like way this world explained things to me. However, just before I could complain, Braun clarified:
[The stronger your need for the destination, the more likely it is to present itself.]
“That’s convenient,” I started, already sensing a darker undertone of it.
[It does, however, work the other way too. How boring would it be otherwise.] Braun peeked from the bag, pointing me to turn with his ears. [The less you want something to find you, the more likely it is to catch up to you.]
I swallowed.
[But do not worry, Friend! This Braun here will make this journey as light as possible!]
Right, all I had to do was not think of anything dangerous… Like… Wolves or serial ki-
A howl echoed from somewhere in the back and I quickened my pace.
“Tell me about this Fox Healer you spoke of,” I shifted my attention to Braun, trying my best to focus on the topic.
[Oh, a mysterious and quite mischievous being that one is! An illusive Fox that guides souls both onto the right path and astray.]
“Doesn’t sound too promising,” I mumbled, bending to avoid sharp arm-like branches from grabbing onto me, trying to ignore them so as to not attract more. “And you think it will help us?”
[If anything, it is known to help reveal one’s real self, cleaned of any impurities and curses. Isn’t that perfect in our case? This way, Friend!]
I followed along, my mind both protesting this endeavour and screaming, desperately pleading for this illusive spirit to show up. Before long, a clearing opened up in front of us: a small pool of clear water with a rock in the middle and a simple wooden log at the shore. I walked up at Braun’s nudging and saw him jump out from the bag.
[You truly are amazing, Friend! We are here and so swiftly!]
Impatient, Braun climbed the log and sat, signaling me to join with a pat of his paw on the bark. Careful not to hurt him, I sat by his side, feeling how rapidly his heart was beating in the small ribcage of his. As soon as I looked at the water before us, he climbed onto my lap and stood up, trying to get a better look.
[Here it is! It came, it really came!]
Squinting, I saw light emerge from behind the rock at the centre of the pond, illuminating a figure curled on the surface. It was not there before, that’s for sure. The fox slowly raised its head and looked at us.
“Visitors on such a quiet night? Should you not be elsewhere, enjoying festivities?” its gaze, directed at Braun, betrayed a hint of mockery, but before Braun could respond, I interfered.
“We are here to ask for your assistance, Fox spirit,” I said, sensing its gaze shift as it laid back on the stone, stretching its legs.
“You poor misguided soul, I really see the horrible stain on you, how cruel,” it whispered. “But do you really wish to cleanse yourself off it?”
What an odd question, I thought.
“Yes,” I replied, reaching to pick Braun up from my lap and holding him up, closer to myself. “As much as I want him to be free as well.”
[Friend!]
“Oh,” the spirit rose, amused. “And why would you? Knowing nothing of this one’s real self?”
I grimaced at the shame this question brought upon me.
“The real self means little to me if he wishes to be something other than the form he is trapped in,” I said confidently, feeling Braun freeze in my arms. “So please, help us both.”
The fox laughed, low and mischievous.
“How lovely, how amusing. You two have such different ways to achieve what you desire.”
As he spoke, the water in the pool shifted, splashing and rising, turning into shapes. I saw a silhouette of a human, their cape made of slowly moving waves. A silhouette of me.
“A little soul that feels lost, hidden away in a world it struggles to understand,” the fox murmured as the waves bent the shape in half, drawing long twisted antlers out as the silhouette twitched in silent agony. “Little does it know that in this world your fear is much stronger than your desires.”
As if by an unspoken command, the water stood up and the shape bowed before dissolving, leaving me to look at the spirit in confusion.
‘Fear…’
“Indeed,” it replied, as if reading my thoughts. “Embrace what you fear as a part of yourself. Your biggest horrors only vanish once they become your guides.”
At these words, I instinctively looked down at Braun who shifted impatiently, his gaze locked on the Fox Spirit.
“As for you,” the Fox spoke, much harsher this time. “Shameless and blind!”
The water smirked violently, making me move away, afraid it would splash onto us. The waves crashed and stood tall, forming a new silhouette but… its head looked down on us, swirling in a sharp box-like shape.
‘Is this…’
“How greedy you are to return to your true self as to play pretend so blatantly, Master of Masks,” the Fox laughed and the waters twitched, squeezed, deformed and dropped down leaving behind only a small shape of a rabbit.
[Shameless?! Why really, what a harsh criticism! Unasked for criticism!]
I looked at Braun who stomped his foot onto my lap.
“How hard would it be to accept that a part you play is as equally yourself as that of the Lord of the Manor?” the Fox laughed.
“Lord… of the Manor?”
I looked down and saw Braun turn to face me.
“Oh my, did this one not tell you?” the Fox rose up, its tail curling around it. “You are holding in your hands none other but the Great Performer, the shameless actor of many roles.”
I rose up, pushing Braun away.
“Oh, looks like his latest role really left an impact on you!” the Fox laughed, turning around and jumping back into the water, leaving only ripples on the surface and a faint echo of its amused laughter.
[Friend?]
I backed away.
“You are the being behind that manor?” I almost tripped over a few branches, but walked away still, not letting Braun catch up. He watched me, his ears pressed to his body in an almost pathetic gesture. “Don’t get any closer! It was because of you that I am this way!”
[Friend, truly thi-]
“Stop! You even said all that about how you adore these, this-”
I struggled to catch my breath, my mind going back to the way his small eyes stared at me when I was still catching breath after all the pain I went through ripping the mask off. How he looked at my antlers in admiration. In jealousy even.
[They do suit you quite well, Friend…]
I clenched my fists.
“That’s enough, I should have never spoken to you! Don’t even call me ‘Friend’! Forget my face! I led you here and this is where we part ways!”
I turned around only to hear the sound of grass ruffling behind me.
[Friend!]
“Quiet!”
Without as much as looking back at him, I ran. I ran fast and choking on my own breath, almost tumbling over branches and rocks, but not looking back a single time.
[Wait, Friend!]
His voice followed. Quiet at first, but growing more persistent. I shut my eyes, trying to chase tears away, afraid of losing my senses out of fear. As I ran, the darkness around me, the branches, all outlined a giant silhouette that watched me, reached for me, almost grabbed me at the shoulders, threatening to catch me in a cold embrace of this cursed forest.
[Friend.]
His voice, deeper, resonated through my head like an electric current.
[How truly cruel I was to you…]
The ground under my feet sank and I slipped, feeling my body falling to the side, hitting a tree hard, scratching at my body through the cape. I let out a groan but cried out the moment something grabbed my shoulder in an iron grip. Instinctively, I closed my eyes and clenched as two arms turned me around in one swift motion.
[Friend!]
I could not dare look. I had to look.
[How truly magical you are, my Friend…]
I gasped, feeling like my own breath caught in my chest. Braun’s head, that which reminded me of retro TV’s looked at me from atop a body draped in a long silken jacket, his arms adorned with laced sleeves caught me in my fall, holding me tight.
“Braun?”
I could not believe the sight so obscure and yet so… familiar in this alien world.
[How magnificent it is that your fear and my desire brought us together here, Friend.]
I looked to the side for just a moment, noticing that what I initially thought was rows upon rows of trees were in fact old marble columns, dense with ivy and rose bushes lit in a faint golden light. I did not need to look behind me to know where we were.
[You brought me back, to my real self, to my senses and to my home! How grateful this humble Host is to you, no words can describe!]
His hands, big and oddly warm, held me lightly. He let me go for a moment, only to hold my hand and intertwine his fingers with mine.
[You showed me that a real actor holds every role true to himself, Friend. This long night, I was as much your Friend as I had ever been the Great Lord of the Manor.]
At his words I shook, hesitant to move but also drawn to his voice. How much of what he says is genuine? The way the Fox spoke to him, the light of his bizarre mansion behind us - it all itched at the back of my head in a terror driven stupor.
“Unhand him,” a voice shook us both and I looked behind me.
The silhouette of a knight in a dragon mask walked up, closing in on us as Braun’s grip on me tightened.
[Why you insolent brute!]
Braun tried to twist his arms to pull me closer, but I pushed away, slipping closer to the knight, breathing heavily as if finally free from a spell. Was everything just a facade?
“You returned to your form,” the knight spoke, taking his mask off and putting it on a clip to his coat before reaching for his sword and a book he carried strapped to his belt.
“Captain!” I called to him, finally seeing the red dragon eyes turn to me.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, only then remembering the antlers on my head. Reaching up, I touched them to check if they were still there and Lee Jaheon’s eyes followed.
“I see.”
With not much added, he raised his sword towards Braun.
“Roe Deer,” he spoke, covering me from Braun’s gaze. “Please, stand back and wait for me to finish this before we proceed with your issue.”
I felt sweat on my back at these words, about to ask what he meant but caught off guard by the bright light shining from the tip of his sword.
[You really think-]
Before Braun could move or spit a remark, his body twitched, the darkness around him protruding from every corner of the forest, grabbed onto his arms and twisted around his body like veins. It curved, it shifted, it enveloped him whole, making him hiss as if the light itself burnt his flesh.
“Captain!” I felt myself scream involuntarily, watching the spirit twitch the same way I did at the paint of my own antlers growing into my head.
“Please stand still. I will assist you later.”
I gulped and took a step away.
‘Later…’
Was the same fate awaiting me for the curse I now bore?
Braun let out a groan as the darkness covered him fully, now pressing and squeezing his body, deforming, shrinking and molding it. I thought myself unable to look, and yet found myself unable to turn away. The sound of his voices drowned in the darkness, the terrifying cracks and shuffles in the dark as the shape came to a still. Two long ears, a small round head.
“Captain!”
Before I could stop myself, I jumped in front of the sword, feeling an odd heat from it on my antlers. Still, it did not hurt too much.
“Roe Deer?”
I could not explain what it was I was doing, but my arms reached for the sword and pushed it away. Relieved, I heard a soft whimper from behind me.
“Please, Sir,” I started, feeling my own body relax now that the light was gone. “Will you do the same to me when you are done with him?!”
Lee Jaheon paused, putting his sword down and closing the book.
“You two are different,” he said in his usual dry tone.
“So you are not denying it? You will?”
The knight looked from me to Braun’s contained shape and back.
“The level to which you would be subjected would be much lighted due to your low level curse.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks and my fist clench.
“The two of us are not that different! See it for yourself if you must!”
I stepped forward and grabbed onto the blade of his ceremonial sword, feeling the steel cut into my skin, spilling blood onto the ground.
“Do it, but do it with no differentiation between the two of us, I beg of you,” I looked up into the dragon’s eyes and held back tears at the pain. This was not the time to regret my choices.
The Fox told me to accept what I fear as a part of myself. And so, in the light of the blade I watched the darkness creep to me, binding my limbs in a hard grasp. I saw it tighten around my legs like belts, around my arms like gloves and around my face like a mask submerging me into darkness.
It happened fast. It felt like an eternity.
[Friend?]
I opened my eyes and squinted at the light just to realise it was the tint of my own eyes. I heard my breathing: heavy and loud. I let out a gasp and watched clouds of smoke envelop my face, melting away in the golden glow.
[My, what a form you have taken! Quite fit for such an illusive companion!]
I looked down, ignoring my own body clad in black, seeking a familiar silhouette.
[Here I am, Friend!]
I knelt down, my hand reaching to hold the rabbit that jumped into my arms.
[Your body temperature is quite different, Friend. Do tell this Braun if it bothers you! We could find you a cloak or perhaps at least a scarf. There is a lot of fine silk I could give you back at the manor, albeit you would have to leave this Braun behind and go through the trouble of finding it yourself. For that I apologise.]
I wanted to shut his worrisome chatter, but as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, only the smoke came out.
“Is this what you wanted, Roe Deer?”
I looked up to the knight watching over us. Hesitant, I rose up, holding Braun tightly in my arms not letting him run away.
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Good. I will now turn you back.”
‘Ah…’
Somehow, the idea of accepting my new self had already settled in, but I felt relieved at the knight’s words. Still…
I opened my mouth to speak and let out some of the smoke, doing my best to shape it into a silhouette of a rabbit.
“Your request lacks reasoning,” Lee Jaheon spoke, but I held the smoke in place, staring at him, feeling Braun in my arms twitch with half anger and half anxiety. I held him in place and stroked his fur.
“If you insist.”
Surprised at the compliance, I embraced Braun and closed my eyes, feeling the burn of the light on me once more.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
“Still the same?” Park Minseong held the black cape in his arms watching Eun Haje brush her hair.
“We are not wearing gold, Badger,” she said, casting a glance onto their commander.
Lee Jaheon quietly tucked his ceremonial sword into the sheaf on his belt and fixed his shirt. Black with silver ornament: the uniform of the evil warding unit.
“Ready,” he said, putting the cape on.
Their ride was short, almost pleasant in the slightly cool evening air, until the horses slowed down entering the darkness of the forest. Despite years of experience, this still felt as unsettling as it had the first time. Park Minseong shivered and put on his mask, watching Falcon struggle a little.
“Still hurts?”
She nodded angrily.
“Every time I go prepared and every time it hurts just as much,” she mumbled, massaging her shoulder that was stabbed by multiple daggers just last month. “It’s fine, this time will be different.”
She put on her mask, accepting the silent hesitant agreement from the rest.
This time would be different.
This time they would be attending as special guests. Untouched, unapproachable, untouchable. This time, their masks would truly be their own: unable to dictate how the night unravels.
The golden gates would open and the guards would bow to them.
The guests would step aside to make way for the guests of honour.
The Host himself would walk down the stairs to see them bow to the one who extended them the invitations.
“It is an honour,” the Dragon spoke, rising from a deep bow.
The music would follow, the drinks would flow, and in the night the two hosts and the guests of honour would put aside the old cruelties and raise a toast to a new dawn.