Horizon | Choi San

11

What sort of bond could survive death?

The question was like a plague in Gaeul's head, replaying over and over as soon as she was left alone with her thoughts. She tried to shake it off- San had asked her not to worry about it. He had promised to find the answers, so she should let him be.

But... it was more curiosity than anything else that made her wonder if such bonds did exist in the first place. Perhaps it was something similar to a magical bond- something like the yin-yang magic in her blood, that could still be a part of someone's existence even in death.

And perhaps... perhaps San was wrong. Maybe this bond did not exist before- she would have known if it did, right?

Gaeul shook her head, throwing another pebble in the river- the pebbles courtesy of Jongho who had noticed her fidgeting and scratching at her hands and had handed her a bag of pebbles to throw at the river if she got frustrated.

It was almost evening- they were one day away from their destination. The rest of them spent their time either sleeping or chatting, and Gaeul was mostly giving them space, making up excuses not to intrude- after all, they shared a history together. She had nothing on them. She mostly observed what sort of a relationship they shared and it was all so... natural. They just fit beautifully with each other. It reminded her of her parents- how naturally they interacted.

What also intrigued her was Princess Yena, whom none of them knew (except for Seonghwa and Hongjoong but in the form of vague childhood memories) until about three years ago. It looked like they had known her forever. She had heard them talk about how their magic was 'linked'- they could feel each other across lands, across oceans. Perhaps that was why Yena fit in so well and Gaeul could never. Perhaps... the bond Gaeul shared with San was something like that.

But Gaeul was an ordinary faerie- as ordinary you could be while coming from a powerful magical bloodline- her parents, her uncles, her grandparents that possessed the same magic were also ordinary people. They lived ordinary lives, as far as she knew. What changed with her?

Gaeul tossed another pebble, sighing. Another thing that plagued her was this whole timeline mess that was beyond her- or anyone's understanding for that matter. How was her death any different from Seonghwa's? Why did he continue to simply live while she apparently stayed dead but then came back all... broken and dark-

"If you stare at the river any harder, you'll split it into half."

Gaeul turned to look at Yena who looked amused and she smiled- Princess Yena was incredibly pretty and... had an ethereal air to her, like Yeosang. Perhaps because of their magic- Princess of Space and Princess of Spirit. They did look otherworldly.

"I'm just... confused, is all," Gaeul sighed. "As I'm sure everyone else is too."

"I know exactly what you mean," Yena huffed, staring at the river like Gaeul. "I was as confused as you once, if not more. I know it's the most frustrated I've ever felt in my life."

"How did you... deal with everything? I'm sure it took you a long time to find answers."

"It took me a lot of time to find all the answers I was searching for- and some questions I didn't even realise existed," Yena said. "But... thanks to everyone's help, I was able to get through it. And I think that's why nobody leaves you alone, Gaeul. We've all been here once in our lives."

Gaeul nodded- she was sure the Princes had problems too-

"Though, I must say, I don't think anyone's had it as bad as me," Yena chuckled. "Ignorance really is bliss."

"How did you find out you were the Princess?" Gaeul cautiously asked and Yena smiled to let her know it was okay to ask.

"I was just another girl, in Fomalhaut, of all the places," Yena said and Gaeul raised her brows in surprise. "I think there was a reason why I was in Fomalhaut- the island with no ruler- no Prince. If I had been in one of the continents, they would have found me sooner.