Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

013

I spent the next couple of days exploring the Palace of Atlas on my own, sneaking around in the courtyard at night and breaking into hidden libraries, ballrooms, and galleries covered in portraits and pictures and painting of The Eight Kings, The Mountains, Haelan, and all of its kingdoms, feeling a mix of sadness and delight as I walked past them, finally reaching the familiar sights of Sector 8, Rome, in all of its glory, lingering for a moment longer than I had done with the others.

None of us, the kings or I, had mentioned the wine cellar since that morning in the kitchen, the night of darkness and barrels and flickering lights seemingly forgotten except for the glances the King of the North would occasionally send my way as we passed each other in the hallway to which I sent him a knowing smile back.

But it wasn't until I, one late afternoon after training by myself, turned to the wall of windows opposite my bed and gazed down into the streets of Martell below, that I realized just how much time had passed since I had arrived in the palace.

The colourful buildings looked even brighter than usual, and the streets that snaked their way between the facades were crowded with people dressed in every colour of the rainbow, matching perfectly with the decorations, banners, lights, and petals that littered the cobbled roads, the unmistakable shape of a ferris wheel towering over a couple of shops and stands I hadn't seen during any of my trips into town with the kings.

A small gasp left my lips as I pressed my hand against the cool surface of the glass, letting my eyes travel over the rest of the capital, seeing people in costumes, children carrying cotton candy, horses, and birds with magnificent plumages, carrousels spinning, and smiles everywhere.

"The carnival," I breathed, taking a moment to count the days in my head and realizing that it was indeed June 30th, the last day of the month, and the last day before The Trials of the Eight Mountains truly became reality. "That means that they will choose the champions tomorrow," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper as I pulled away from the window with furrowed brows. Tomorrow would be the first day of July and the first day of an entire month of training; champions along with the kings and the rest of the contestants on their own.

"It's almost scary, isn't it?" a bright voice said, cutting through the heavy silence of my room and jolting me out of my thoughts as I turned to face Jinae and Nari who had strolled right through the doors, or appeared from thin air, without me noticing. After what I had seen so far, the latter wouldn't even have surprised me.

"Tonight is your last chance to have as much irresponsible and unworried fun as possible," Jinae continued, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she gestured to me, "Besides what happened the other night with the king of the-" she halted as I sent her a warning look, "So we have to make sure that you're dressed for the occasion."

Nari's eyes glinted with something like mischief as she snapped her fingers, the sound of running water immediately replacing the silence at the other end of my room as I took a step back and raised my hands in front of me, "I can take a bath on my own, thank you," I laughed nervously, "If you could just wait right here I promise to be back in a second-" I tried but Jinae cut me off with a scoff at that.

"Look at you," she said, both of the handmaidens' eyes traveling across me, across my body, with distaste, "You're dirty, your hair is messy, and you smell-" "Hey!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms over my chest, offended, but neither of the two seemed to care much for the tantrum I was about to throw.

"Yuna, let us take care of this, hm?" Nari said, stalking over as her midnight hair flowed behind her. I took another step back though quickly froze as the look in her eyes turned dark, "We have great plans for you so if you would be so kind as to get rid of that rancid-" I gasped and she shook her head, "That dirty suit and get into the bath so we can get you ready and perfect for tonight."