Chapter 10 - Kidnapped

"Please... Help me... I want to go home."

Ugh... Who? Don't cry. It's f**king irritating.

My eyes snapped open and all that surrounded me was black. Pitch black. Some kid's crying was raging in the space. Where am I?

"Hello? Anyone here?" My feet felt wobbly as I stood up on them.

Where do I go? It's f**king black everywhere!

My voice echoed, swallowed up by the darkness.

That crying... it wasn't just a sound, it was cutting through me like jagged glass for some reason.

Why...

My hands shot out instinctively, trying to grasp onto something, anything, but the air was cold, still, and empty.

Then, all at once, the darkness shattered.

A blinding light poured in, almost burning my eyes. I stumbled back, shielding my face.

When I blinked the brightness away, I wasn't in the black void anymore. I was standing in a garden. But it wasn't peaceful.

Something was wrong. It felt wrong. What's going on?

The crying continued, louder now, raw and desperate. My eyes darted around.

Flowers stretched endlessly, their colors unnaturally vibrant, almost glowing as if they were magical. The air was too sweet, sickly even, like it was trying to choke me.

And then I saw it.

A kid. No older than ten. Black hair, skinny frame, clutching their knees, trembling. The realisation crashed through me like a wave.

It's 10 year- old Evelina.

Before I could say anything, before I could take a step closer, something darker emerged.

A man...if you could even call him that. Honestly, felt more like a monster to me. His presence made my entire body shudder as if it was... traumatized by that face.

But, who was it?

The was shrouded in shadows that twisted unnaturally around his body. His hands were clawed, gripping little Evelina by her arm.

"Hey!" I yelled, my voice sharp, demanding attention.

The man didn't stop. Little Evelina thrashed, screamed louder, and it cut through me like a knife. Without thinking, I lunged toward them.

My hand reached out, straight for his shoulder but it passed right through him.

What the f**k?!

Panic shot through me like a bolt of lightning. I stumbled back, heart racing, staring at my hand as though it had betrayed me.

I tried again, harder this time, but my fingers slipped through his shadowy frame like he wasn't even there.

"Stop it!" I screamed, my voice cracking, but neither of them reacted.

Evelina kept crying, her voice breaking, the man dragging her further into the garden's endless rows of glowing flowers. No one came to the little Evelina's rescue.

"Look at me! No! Don't take her away!" I shouted, running after them, my legs pounding against the ground.

But no matter how fast I ran, they kept moving further away.

"Please no... It's just a kid..."

Tears blurred my vision as I crashed down to my knees as if it was my child that had been kidnapped.

"Please... Bring her back."

---

"Lina! Lina! Lina! Wake up!"

Kael...

I felt his hands, burning against my cheek. Pain spiked through my entire body, pulling me back into the suffocating weight of reality.

I gasped sharply, my eyes flying open, as the softness of the mattress beneath me sunk in my bones and there he was...Kael, hovering over me with a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes. Those plum lips less an inch away from mine.

Wait... Was my baby trying to kiss me!? What the hell... That's creepy as f**k.

Prince Kale's lips were moving, but my mind couldn't quite catch up with the things he was trying to convey.

"Your Highness…" My voice cracked, weak and hoarse.

His grip on me tightened. "You scared the shit out of me! What the hell was that, Lina? I thought I lost you again!"

Why does he keep repeating the word 'again'!? When did Kael lose Evelina before?

I blinked, struggling to gather my thoughts.

The garden. The child. Little Evelina.

My stomach churned violently at the dream, and a sob clawed its way up my throat.

Why did it affect me so much? Is it because I'm in Evelina's body?

"She... she was taken," I stammered, my chest heaving. "She was crying, and I couldn't stop it. I tried... I f**king tried, but he—he just—"

"Lina, breathe," Kael interrupted, his voice firm, cutting through my hysteria. His hands cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. "What are you talking about? Who was taken?"

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to piece it together.

"That... Ev-"

Wait. What am I doing? He doesn't know I'm not Evelina but Han Ji-eun. What were you about to do, Ji-eun? Do you want to be beheaded for practicing witchcraft?

Kael's brows knitted tightly together, and for a moment, the intensity in his gaze faltered.

"Lina?" Kael repeated softly. "What's the matter?"

I froze.

The words clung to the back of my throat. How was I supposed to explain this? That I wasn't who he thought I was? That the girl he was desperately trying to get wasn't the same?

Why do you even have to explain, Ji-eun?

I need to re-shift my focus. I need to go back to my world. I'll die again if I stay here. Maybe a worse death than before...

Kael tilted his head, his grip firm but not painful, his fingers tracing a slow rhythm along my cheek. "Say something. Anything."

Kael's voice cracked on the last word, the vulnerability in it startling me. "What's the matter, Lina?"

"It's... nothing," I muttered, forcing the words out. My lips felt numb, trembling. "Just a bad dream."

Kael's jaw clenched. He face screamed that he didn't believe me, not even for a second.

That I was... lying.

"A bad dream doesn't make you cry like that, Lina. And it doesn't make you scream for someone to stop."

"Why do you care so much, Your Highness? What am I to you? Neither am I your lover, wife or fiancee. Can't you leave me alone!?"

"Why the f**k is it so hard for you to understand that I lo-"

"The Grand Duke is entering."