6. Noona?

.~Hani~.

"Seriously! What a blabber mouth you are." Min snaps as he looks at the astonished Habeak.

I hold back a growl as I try to cool my temper all of a sudden Min lets out a cry as Jin has just slapped his back and grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him to bow at me,"am so sorry your majesty he is a bit sick in the head." Jin apologizes adding more force to his hold.

Min lets out a cry as he tries to get out of his grip,"Majesty..." Habeak mumbles staring at me.

I feel my cheeks flush at the way his eyes were moving on me.

I quickly moved my eyes off him once I noticed he wasn't going to move his anytime soon.

I clear my throat and look at Min who still has his finger in his fist, "it's quite visible." I say.

He shot his head up, glares at me and snorts. "says the cursed queen who was locked up,what crazy crime did you commit?" I suddenly felt down.

I look at him with such sadness that made him grimace in pretend horror. "I also wonder but I can't seem to remember no matter how hard I try. What is it that I did?" his expression calms down and I let out a deep breath.

Whatever it was, will it justify the fact that I was locked up in a dark cave and was treated much less than a slave?

"gahhh! That was scary!" Min's loud voice brings me back to reality, I see him over at Habeak's side holding him by the arm and whispering but loud enough for me to hear. "she is a bad luck charm, dispose her immediately if not your world will be turned upside down." Habeak pushes him away with a scowl "says the one who lied to me."

Min raises his brows nonchalantly and shrugs "understand dude, I couldn't tell anyone, but you now know, don't you? What should I conjure up for you?" he slings his arm around his neck and Habeak jabs him in the stomach "forget it. And you shouldn't call Ariel bad luck." He looks at me, I shake my head we are back to the odd name.

"Are you okay?" he asks me, taking a step to me, I nod "totally." I answer.

Jin offers to take me to where I will calm myself but is strongly denied by Habeak who hides me behind him in a protective manner that got us all stunned at his actions.

Insisting that Min might kill me while nobody is looking, I see Min nod in agreement, I giggle and touched him on the arm slightly, I raise my head in a proud manner "I will kill him even before he does, then I will accept my punishment in glee since he won't be existing ever again." I look at him in contempt who puckers his lips in annoyance.

A little more persuasion, he agrees,"okay, but stay where I will be able to see you." I nod "ok." We stare at each other for a while.

"ewww! Dude you are the clingy type." He cries glaring at Habeak who scoffs,"yes I am, so what!" he asks locking Min's head in his arm and pulls him away from us while waving at me with a smile.

I smile back and raise my hand to wave back. "I guess he is your first clue to finding the mirror." I look at Jin who gestures for me to follow him which I did. "what do you mean?" I ask.

"he must have been part of your past life. I was told by the elders that the first person your hairpin reacts to will help lead you to your mirror." I stop in my tracks.

He was in my past life.

As who? Is now the question that follows... why is he my first clue?

Why is it that questions keep on piling up? "your Majesty." Jin calls out I look at him and smile. "you should stop calling me that. I was once a queen but I no longer am." He nods "as you wish."

"just call me by my name, Hani." We continued walking. "did I really die?" I ask he looks at me.

"that was what we were told you were quite legendary you know."

An air of pride swept pass me. "but you suddenly died and was revived to receive your punishment while waiting for the time that you will look for the mirror." Thinking of it I can't actually remember how I got into the cave, it took time before I could recall what had happened in my life. In the beginning I was as empty as a shell till it began to come back slowly, filling me up and consuming me with guilt, pain and regret.

Sitting in that cave wasn't really punishment, my memories were.

We soon arrive at a huge table filled with silver containers, boxes and strange looking bottles made out of glass the aroma of food I have never eaten filled my nostrils "everything is eatable your majesty or should I taste it for you?" I laugh and shake my head.

"I was looking because it's all new to me. thank you." He smiles and excuses his self-saying he needed to check on his friends.

How sweet unlike his brother who only loves to get on my nerves, one day I will make sure I rip him into pieces and then throw his body in the Styx river to decay without his soul going anywhere. I laugh at that and turned my attention back to the table.

Joy is eating over me, I see a bowl of strawberry which I've missed so much, technically it reminds me of my younger brother whose face I almost destroyed because he ate my own potion of strawberries; at that time, it was hard to acquire it, the only reason we got to eat it was because we were royals and royals only have the best.

The elation my heart once held is now filled with sadness I miss them, my family but that won't bring me down, the living should live and that is just what I will do. I will regain my memory of that night and also look for the mirror which will end my nightmares.

The first thing that caught my interest is a triangular looking pancake which I slowly reach for it, I swallow my saliva and took a huge bite.

Shooting my eyes open I look at it again, wow! it tastes SOOO delicious, the world improved and so did the food.

As I stand eating, a man in his early twenties approaches me.

"Hello." he greets with a friendly smile which I return as I take another piece of the triangle pancake, He picks up a green glass bottle.

"Are you planning on eating all this?" he asks handing me the bottle he had uncapped, I nod gingerly. "If i can i would." I answer collecting the bottle he had offered me "Are you a new trainee in our agency?" he asks again.

I roll my eyes and whip my head to the side, i wish know what that is, in order to ignore that question I take a sip of its liquid content, it sends a shot of bubbly sensation on my taste buds that of sweet and bitter but once I swallowed it I grip the bottle and grimaced in a soured expression.

Keesh...ees...

He laughs at me "are you okay?" he asks me I nod "yes I am." I answer.

"what is with the historical speech? It sounds so authentic or are you bonding with your character?" I pinch my fingers at those questions. Not knowing how to respond I cup the bottle in my mouth and slowly sipped the content which burns my throat.

"yah. You shouldn't drink it like that!" he yells in warning as he tries to collect it but I swivel around till I was done drinking before I hit the bottle on the table as I begin to feel really light, I felt like I will be able to dance up in the sky... so this is what being inebriated feels like.

As a princess I was never allowed to taste anything like this because only the kisaengs and men drink it but here in this world its free.

He looks at me strangely "Are you okay." he asks with weary eyes, I beam and nod, I place my palm on my cheeks which are blazing hot.

I feel unstable so I take a step back, my back hits a hard surface making me to squeak, I turn to see whom i had just hit.

This time I grinned brightly "Oh its Habeak!" I chuckle walking to the other man who looks at me in awe "Isn't he handsome?" I whisper his eyes grew wider I pull back with a snigger and bumped into Habeak I raise my head to look at him.

"What's a trainee?" i ask, his eyes narrowed in confusion, he should be expecting that from a thousand-year-old woman I see him scratch behind his neck then licked his lips.

" A trainee is like an apprentice..." he tried explaining the other looked at us in confusion.

"She has amnesia" he explains to the guy who nods in understanding and picks up a bottle then walks away.

"I told you to eat not get drunk." Habeak scolds, I smile, he is twinkling like a star. "My cheeks are burning." I grumble he pulls me closer to him and cups my face in his palm, creasing it with his thumbs. "How about now?" he asks I smile frivolously and nod.

With his arm supporting me we walk away from the party, it's close to it but further away from the noise that makes my head bang in pain. Habeak helps me to sit before running back to the party.

I sigh and allow myself to lay on my back staring at the stars which danced in the sky I giggle again, it's as if I no longer need to worry about a thing.

He comes back and helps me up handing me a bottle of water which I guzzled almost immediately, am beginning to feel dizzy I see him look at me i tilt my head and studied his face again "Thank you." i say in a whisper he smiles and so does his eyes.

Sober, I drag myself closer to him, I look at him in the eyes before wrapping my arms around him, I hug him. "Am really thankful." I mumble on his chest in which I had rested my forehead on.

I feel his muscle tense which means he isn't comfortable with it. I begin to pull back when he wraps his arms around me too.

I smile "m...m..." he wanted to say something but is sulking at that moment loud bangs fill the place, I got startled but he pats my back and tells me to look at the sky.

Bright colours danced up in the sky "Woah!" I exclaim, pulling out from his hold I stand up to look at the sky in a better view, he also stands up his face warped with disappointment, I jog back and I slip my hand in his.

I smile and he does the same.

As soon as he smiles back, a sudden image takes over my mind. Instead of these clothes am in, I'm wearing a black and blue hanbok with a man in a uniform judging from it, it looks like that of a general.

Up in the sky were lanterns floating away. "do you like it, Noona? "the voice had asked me.

I let go of his hand as I stared at him and my surrounding.

"do you like it, Noona?" what is this? What is this feeling of doubt.

'Noona' I pounder as I stare deep into his eyes. I feel nothing he can't obviously be my brother, can he?

I suddenly feel lost.

The familiarity.

The sadness.

The ecstasy.

The tears.

...And the beating heart all came to a stop at once.

What if ...

What if he is my brother?