Something Peculiar

2.3

Wooseok suddenly went silent. I barely took a step out of my room when I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs, and before I could react, she was there.
Jeongyeon, a Vittra tracker I had dealt with before, appeared at the top of the landing. Her ashy brown hair was still in pixie cut, and she wore a long black leather jacket. She hung on the railing, crouching down. As soon as she saw me, she sneered, showing more teeth that any human would.

I rushed toward her, hoping for the element of surprise, but I was out of luck. She dodge before I got close and sent a swift kick into my abdomen. I stumbled backward, gripping my stomach dramatically, and when she came at me again, I punched her in the face.
Unfazed, Jeongyeon lunged at me and returned the blow much harder. When I fell down, she stood over me, smiling, with blood dripping from her nose. I scrambled to my feet, and she grabbed my hair, yanking me up, I kicked at her as she lifted me, and she rewarded my moxie by kicking me in the side so hard I cried out. Jeongyeon laughed at that and kicked me again.
This time I saw white and everything faded out for a moment. My hearing got wonky, and I barely hung on to consciousness.

"Stop!" a strong voice shouted.

When I blinked open my swollen eyes, I saw a woman running up the stairs toward Jeongyeon. She was tall, and beneath her black sweater she was fit and athletic muscled. Jeongyeon dropped me to the floor when she reached the top of the stairs.

"It's not like I can really hurt her, Rosé," Jeongyeon said, her voice bordering on whining.

I tried to get to my feet again, even though I felt dizzy, and she kicked me down.

"Knock it off," she snapped at her. She grimaced and took a step back.

She stood in front of me, towering above me, and then knelt down. I could scramble away from her, but I wouldn't be far. She cocked her head, looking at me curiously.

"So you're what all the fuss is about," she mused.

She reached forward, taking my face in her hands. Not painfully, but she was forcing me to look at her. Her caramel eyes fixed on mine. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. This strange fog settled over me, and as terrified as I was, I felt my body relaxing, losing it's ability to fight. My eyelids were too heavy to keep open, and, unable to stop it, I fell asleep.
I was dreaming of water. But anything more specific than that I couldn't remember. My body felt cold, like it should be shivering but wasn't. My cheeks were warm, though, resting against something soft.

"You're telling me that she's a Princess?" Taehyung asked, his voice a deep rumble above me. My head lay against his leg, and the more I woke up, the more I realized how terrible my body felt.

"It's not that hard to believe. really," Wooseok said. His voice came from somewhere on the other side of the room. "Once you knowl the Trylle stuff, the Princess part is pretty easy to take."

"I'm not sure what to believe anymore," Taehyung admitted.

I opened my eyes with a struggle. My eyelids felt unnaturally heavy, and my left eye was swollen from where Jeongyeon had punched me. The room swayed, and I blinked it into focus. When my vision finally cleared, I still didn't understand what I was seeing. The floor appeared to be dirt, and the walls were brown and gray stones, looking damp and weathered. It reminded me of an old cellar . . . or a dungeon.
Wooseok paced the other side of the room, fresh bruises on his face. I tried to sit up, but my entire body hurt and my head felt like woozy.

"Hey, take it easy," Taehyung said, putting his hand on my shoulder, but I didn't listen.
I pushed myself up until I was sitting, which took a lot more effort than it normally required. I grimaced and leaned against the wall next to him.