A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

A Magic Secret

Cholongkkoch helped Taehyun descend the ladder on her rope. She watched him from up high, as he jumped on his horse and rode away. And she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, "You can come out now, Kai."

"Yay!" A small, but more importantly cute, penguin waddled down the stairs and eventually jumped onto the banister, sliding down as if the banister were a snowdrift. He flapped his flippers and ended up in Cholongkkoch's arms. "I am free now!"

"You are free." Cholongkkoch's mother was magic, and so it made sense that she was magic. But magic users were few and far between in the kingdom, and Kim Heulin always made sure that she and her daughter were safe and away from anyone who might abuse their powers. Heulin's daemon, Mae, was a great hawk who could swoop through the air, and was also strong enough to carry Heulin wherever she might go. Cholongkkoch's daemon, Kai, was simply a small penguin, but Cholongkkoch loved him just the same.

"I thought I was going to have to stay upstairs forever!" Kai's eyes twinkled pink and blue sparks of magic. "Who was that guy? It sounded like he was from the castle! You know we're not supposed to go to the castle."

"I know. Mama sends a letter to the King every year. But it might be nice to meet the King someday. He knows magic, and I know magic, and I want to learn more magic." Cholongkkoch's mother had forbidden any magic teaching in the tower, but every time they went to Shinkisokou, Cholongkkoch would go to the library while her mother did her shopping. The library was run by a nice man named Seokjin who let her hide away in a back room, reading spells and magic history, absorbing all she could before her mother collected her none the wiser.

"Do we have enough time to practice more spells?" Kai asked.

Cholongkkoch checked the sun's position in the sky. "We may have a bit of time. Mama doesn't come home until the sun is down." Truly, there were some nights that Cholongkkoch's mother didn't come home at all. She was the exact opposite of her daughter: whereas Cholongkkoch was trapped in one tower all day most days, unless her mother willed it, Kim Heulin traveled all around the world, making business deals and sleeping with every woman who would let her. She never told Cholongkkoch this, of course, but the small girl had figured it out. A long time ago, after all, she had had two mommies before her second mommy had gotten sick. Now it was just her and Mama, against the world.

The two stood in the middle of the huge room, and Cholongkkoch tried to remember the words. If she recited them perfectly, the magic would flow through Kai, and then magical things would happen. That was the way magic worked — it was based on the bond between a magic user and their daemon. Without the daemon, magic simply didn't happen.

Cholongkkoch hated the nights when her mother came home and found her dallying her life away, or taking a nap, or worse. She always threatened to take Kai away, far away to a place Cholongkkoch didn't know. And if they were separated for too long, the bond between Cholongkkoch and Kai would break, and Cholongkkoch would lose what little magic she had.

When the sun went down, Cholongkkoch lit a lamp and picked a novel from her collection of books. Her mother didn't mind her favorites, but she did have some questions as to why she always chose adventure novels. It was always Treasure Island, or Moby Dick, or Robinson Crusoe. And Cholongkkoch lived through these stories. She wanted to be Jim or Ishmael, but she didn't want to just be transported onto a ship sailing away. She wanted to cut her hair and brandish a sword, and she wanted to wear men's breeches.

Something about it just felt right. More right than her long blonde hair and multi-layered skirt.

Cholongkkoch could hear Mae off in the distance long before she actually arrived, so she put the book down and stood in front of the window, presenting herself. And sure enough, a great hawk came flying through the night sky overhead, and Cholongkkoch's mother was riding on her back. She had long curly black hair and a wicked smile that could charm women and girls alike.

"Good evening, Mama," Cholongkkoch said as her mother arrived through the window.

Mae the great hawk immediately sought out Kai, whipping her head back and forth, searching for the small penguin. Cholongkkoch scooped Kai up in her arms. "Please don't hurt Kai. He did such a good job protecting me today."

"He better have," Mae sneered in her psychic voice, the same way Kai had spoken before. "The only thing worth protecting in this house is you, little princess."

Cholongkkoch gulped. She still to this day had no clue why Mae called her a little princess, but she secretly hated it.

"Ahh, yes, my child," Heulin said, wrapping her arm around Cholongkkoch. "How wonderful it is to see you again. Did you prepare dinner like I asked?"

Cholongkkoch sighed. Her mother always assumed she would have dinner on the table, but she never asked exactly what she wanted. "I made some fresh bread with the wheat you left, and the apples are still good."

"Oh, silly girl. That will not make a meal, but I suppose that will have to do. Let us work on it together, you're so silly, but you tried your best. You know I'll help you."

And Cholongkkoch only smiled. "Of course. I'm not very good at cooking, anyway. You are much better at cooking. I can't do it without you."

--

Asterhythm: We finally get to meet Kai! I think he can handle an entire book of not being human, especially if he's a penguin daemon. We also get to meet Cholongkkoch's mother and her daemon. Their home life is certainly interesting...