"Hm, this absolutely will not do!"
The woman working on Nara's hair complained ever so often, stopping halfway through the procedure to take out the already fixed up hair and then restarting over again. Her nature was being quite the perfectionist. Throughout this, Nara was unable to say anything. She was being held down firmly by some unknown force.
The restraint might be a bit overdone, but it was only expected after the scene Nara caused. The moment a lady that resembled a snake entered the room and claimed to be the one in charge of preparing her for the wedding, she immediately started shouting and refused to comply. They had no choice but to forcefully tie her down.
"Really, you should just sit down quietly." A-Tae grumbled. He was watching her from the side.
"Look at you, all chained up cause you can't listen!" Seong followed up with a disapproving tongue click.
Nara scoffed and retorted back, "Would you be happy to be forcefully getting married?"
The twins both snickered. Seong did not respond, but A-Tae happily clasped his hands and acted like a shy maiden, bashfully saying, "If it was to the master, gladly!"
"You're all crazy!" Nara shouted through gritted teeth. The woman above her peered down, lips curling into a dark smile.
"My little lady, perhaps you have still yet to fathom your situation?" Her tone was very chilly. The scales around her were growing darker in color, and she looked as though she was going to swallow Nara whole.
Feeling that the air around them was being replaced by darkness, A-Tae and Seong quickly ran to Nara's side and whispered, "You definitely can't offend her! Madam Baem isn't as kind as our master!"
Nara did not want to comply, but the malicious look on the woman's face immediately silenced her sassy tongue. She bit her lip as her clenched fist trembled and at last, she lowered her head. She admit defeat.
"My, what a good girl you are. You know your place now, hm?" Seeing how the human she was tending to finally settled down, Madam Baem's dark face was replaced with a sly smile. Her evil intent had dissipated, and she went back to fixing Nara's messy hair.
After her hairstyle was complete, Madam Baem instructed Nara to stand. When she was done admiring her masterpiece, she grabbed her chin and thought carefully.
"Ahh… our gracious master allowed me to do as I see fit with you, but it's much too difficult to prepare a human!" Then her eyes darkened. "It would save us all trouble if he had granted me permission to devour you instead."
Nara shivered, eyes widening in fear.
"Madam Baem, your joke crosses the line. Kyu, she is the future mistress of this palace, master will not sit back if he sees you speaking to her in this manner." Samu, who had just arrived, warned her coldly.
Madam Baem smirked and waved her hands in the air, as if to casually dismiss what she said. Her snake like tongue stuck out as she hissed and apologized, but Nara knew those words were real. She had felt the killing intent.
She had forgotten, but she was no longer a princess that was protected by many. Even if she still had her title, these people did not follow the rules of the human world. They were monsters.
They had the upper hand against her.
"You will be obedient, won't you, girl?" Knowing that her threat was effective, Madam Baem lifted Nara's head so that she would be staring directly at her large yellow eyes. Her sharp nails hurt against the skin, but Madam Baem understood her boundaries and did not make an effort to sink them into Nara's flesh—especially with Samu and the twins nearby.
"Y-Yes…" Nara squeaked out. The blood was rushing to her head as she panicked. She was scared they would hear her heart thumping so loudly.
Once Madam Baem was finished with her task of dressing Nara in bridal robes, she undid the binding spell and allowed the human girl to move around freely. It was obvious she was still dissatisfied with letting Nara live, but with others watching her every move, she could not commit any treacherous actions. She slithered away at last after giving Nara an intense stare.
"She's finally gone!" Seong sighed in relief.
"Haha! Madam Baem looked so angry!" A-Tae commented.
They both looked over in Nara's direction to find that her face was as pale as ashes. They both leaned over, ignoring Samu's orders of not getting close to the bride.
"What's wrong?" A-Tae asked.
"Yeah! Were you scared?" Seong had a deep grin plastered on his face.
Nara knew they did not truly care for her well being. They only wanted to relish in seeing her act like a little mouse that had just been preyed on. She was stupid to think they were harmless children. Everyone here could kill her easily! She pursed her lips and did not reply.
"If you are done frowning, quickly follow us! We must proceed with the ceremony as soon as possible!" Samu explained as he grabbed the twins with his tail.
Nara did not want to, but her legs started to move on their own accord. There was something wrong with her. No matter how much she struggled internally to stop her action, she continued to walk alongside Samu and the twins. It was only when they arrived at a large door that the three kids came to a halt. They then bowed to the largest statue of a dragon hanging by the door, and left as quickly as they had come.
Now that she was left alone, she looked around the hall and noticed how there were several paintings of beings she had never seen before. Her small figure seemed even tinier amongst the large statues and portraits.
Her small hands reached to touch the statue in front of her, and the moment her fingertips felt the coldness of the stone, she felt a spark throughout her entire body.
[ Come. ]
There was a voice beyond the door that called out to her.
[ Come, Nara. ]
The voice repeated.
Nara was afraid.
Yet her body still went against her will. Something inside her was being drawn to the voice. She wanted to be closer to it… she wanted to….
She slowly pushed open the door.
There was darkness inside. When she stepped inside, the door behind her shut tightly. She hurried to pry it back open, but it would not budge. She eventually gave up and turned back around to the empty room.
"H… Hello?" She called out to the darkness.
Upon hearing her voice, something inside rustled. She jumped in surprise, heart beating as she clutched onto her clothing.
"Is anyone here?" She tried again.
Then, at the darkness corner, a candle lit up. The other candles followed it's lead until it reached the entrance where Nara was standing. It created a path for her, and she thought that she had to follow. She began to walk.
As she reached the end, she bumped into something very big, and fell down. After making sure she wasn't hurt, she slowly looked up to find herself face to face with a large number of colorful, huge scales. If that was not enough to frighten her out of her wits, there was a large eyeball staring right at her.
She immediately fainted.
*
When Nara opened her eyes, there was still darkness around her. The candles had gone out. She tried to comprehend what had occurred, and after regaining her memories, she frantically searched around to see if whatever creature she had stumbled across was still with her.
There was emptiness.
Or so she thought.
[ You have awoken. ]
That voice! It returned! Nara closed her eyes and clasped both her hands over her ears, hoping she would no longer be able to hear it.
[ Are you afraid? ]
She could still hear very clearly.
"Who are you?" She called out.
The moment she said her question out loud, a bright white light blinded her and she immediately shut her eyes again. It was only when the intense light disappeared that she hesitantly opened them.
There was someone standing in front of her.
She squinted to see clearer.
It was a man with long white hair. When the figure came closer to her, she gasped upon seeing how beautiful he was.
There was simply no words to describe him.
When he was right in front of her, he quietly looked down at her, then disappeared again. Nara was confused and looked around her.
[ Perhaps this form would be more suitable for you. ]
Since the man was taller, Nara had been looking up, but when she peered down, she saw that he was now as small as her. He was slightly shorter, so that was why she was given the illusion that he disappeared. He had only changed into a child.
"What— who are you?" Nara backed away from his curious gaze and stumbled down again. The white haired kid walked towards her, his golden eyes seemingly peeking through her soul. He leaned towards her, then pressed their foreheads together. Another strange light emerged from his head and enveloped both of them. Nara felt energy rushing into her.
[ So it was true... ]
He glanced down at the blue mark that appeared on Nara's forehead. It was glowing such a bright color.
[ You are my bride. ]