A Thousand Years

Chapter 8: Questions and Answers

"It seems like I'm always saving you, not that it's a bad thing." He said as he looked at her. "When you rushed out, we got worried. I volunteered to come find you. Once I heard English being spoken, I knew you were nearby. What happened? Did you see something?" He asked her with concern on his face.

How could she tell him? Would he believe her if she said she saw a man dressed in black staring at her and fading away. Not to mention the headache and the voices returning after only 1 day. No, she couldn't do that to him or the others. She knew that this battle was hers now.

Astoria gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm alright. I thought I saw someone in trouble but I guess they're okay now. Anyways, let's go back inside." She then walks back towards the dorm, leaving Mingi with more questions than answers. He follows her back inside with thoughts running through his head on what had happened in just a short amount of time.

As the day went on, no one questioned Astoria on what happened since she told them the same lie. It did pain her to lie to them but she did not wish to worry them. All 9 of them decided to play video games and watch videos together for the day. Yunho even taught her how to dance to Wave. Astoria enjoyed the time well spent with Ateez. She got close to them and their bond grew. That day she was not their manager, but a friend.

As night begins to appear outside, Astoria checks the time. "Today was a wonderful day. I had a great time with all of you, but I should get going." They understood and said their goodbyes. Many offered to walk her back to her dorm but she didn't want to burden them with it. So Astoria decided to go alone. As she walked back to her dorm, questions ran through her head. "Who was that man and why did the voices come back? It has been a couple weeks since the incident in the bathroom." She said to herself.

After a few moments, Astoria makes it to her apartment and goes to makeself a quick dinner before bed. As she made some quick ramyeon and was about to eat, a woman's voice could be heard. It was not in her head, but somewhere in the apartment. She could not distinguish what she heard. It sounds like mumbling. This of course frightened her. Was there someone in her dorm? Who could have known where she moved to?

The noise gets louder. Astoria starts shaking in fear. But as the noise grows louder, a figure starts to appear from her bedroom. The figure was a young woman who looked exactly like Astoria. But the woman had gray hair instead of brown like her. Also, she was wearing attire from a different century. "Who are you?" Astoria asked as the figure made her way towards the kitchen. The young woman stops right in front of Astoria. "I am you from the past. We have met before a while back but you don't remember." (So when the two meet, present Astoria will be called Tori so there is no confusion.)

This confused Tori in many ways. "How are you here? Why? What brings you here?" She asked her past self. Astoria chuckles, "Too many questions to answer." Her smile then turns into a small frown. "I don't know why I am here. The memories have been restored. I should have been reunited with the others. Something is keeping us apart." Astoria then begins to relax and grows concerned about the situation. "I heard a voice today. It was telling me to get out of the cage and calling me Princess Astoria."

Astoria looks at her with eyes widened in shock. "Who told you that?" Tori rubs the back of her neck. "I don't know. But beforehand, I saw a man dressed in all black on the streets. I was up in Ateez's dorm to hang out with them. Suddenly the man caught my eye and we made eye contact. Lastly, he began to fade away. I tried to go after him but he disappeared as I turned the corner. That was when I heard the voice. Mingi was able to save me from that by just putting his hand on my shoulder."

Astoria looks at her with a look that Tori only saw in crime dramas where the lead would be solving cases. "Did he look familiar to you?" Astoria asked her. Tori thought about it for a quick second. "He did seem familiar. The voice also sounded familiar. It was a man." Astoria starts to put it together. "You saw one of the members of Halateez."