Amber Erin Anderson

"Ely- what?" I got up instantly from the bed and landed in my foot when I heard the unfamiliar name.

Standing up, I realised I had different clothes on - I wasn't wearing my blue pyjamas - instead, I was in an oversized white chiffon shirt with sleeves so big I could fit my two hands there. I looked at the boys with wide eyes as they realised what I was thinking.

Keith was the first one to speak. "Yes, so. . . It's not what you-"

And then Zenix started, cringing. "There's no way we would change you-"

Ember was the last one. "A friend of mine did it. A girl friend of mine. You were sweating too much. . ." he scratched his neck. "Your fever was high and I didn't have any clothes of your size."

"So. . ." I said, looking down at the shirt which pretty much went till my thighs. "This is yours?"

He nodded and I shook my head, focusing on what I was about to do as I hurried towards the window to see in what place I was and if I knew anything about it.

"Why in the world there are carriages everywhere but not a single freaking car and what the hell are these people wearing!?" I demanded with an extreme loud voice, scrutinizing everything that I could see.

I couldn't apprehend what was going on here. Was I at some kind of old village where they didn't have any idea how modern people live or was this like this? I couldn't see a single car, motorcycle, bicycle, truck, ambulance or any kind of daily transportation that I was familiar with. Instead, people were driving in carriages, carts, horse carts, covered sleighs, wagons and some vehicles that I didn't even know what it was called!

People seemed busy with their lives as some were buying goods from the small shops which were mostly located in every corners, some yelling at each other for God knows why, some children dropping their head back and looking at the sky which was filled with cloud, some trying their best to get away from the crowd and some performing something across the road while people applauded.

The view was making me anxious and I turned around to face the white haired guys. "Guys, where am I, really?" I asked nervously, my eyes wide, my heart beating fast again.

"As I said, in the kingdom of Elysia." Ember raised an eyebrow while I repeated his words.

"The kingdom of Elysia?" I asked as Ember nodded. "So, you're telling me I'm in a realm which is ruled by a king or a queen?" I asked, both of my eyebrows raised and the boys nodded.

"Am I in the past?" I mumbled to myself. "Did I reincarnate after dying from a fever?"

"And this kingdom is unaware of everything I see daily in the streets?" Again, they nodded. "What bullshit is this," I mumbled again, furrowing my eyebrows.

This must be a dream. It has to be.

"And where am I currently? Like, which place in this kingdom?" I inquired with a tight smile.

"Well, currently you're in the pala-" Ember didn't finish his sentence when abruptly he heard someone's footstep coming towards the room. He placed his index finger on his lips, and before I could even comprehend what was going on, Keith slipped his body behind the curtains, his speed so rapid I couldn't even see him being fast, making my eyes wide.

Zenix was the only one who hadn't moved from his position as Ember walked towards the closed door and had a talk with whoever there was behind the door. Even if I couldn't hear what they were talking about, I could still make out some words: like, Ember saying he'd be there with the Crown Prince and some words like 'Father', 'Ready' and 'Quick'.

Ember came back, sighed and ran a hand through his white hair which caused his hair to be pulled back as he gestured us that we can talk.

"Okay, I've a lot of questions right now but first of all, what did he mean-"

"We don't have time for this," Ember mumbled and looked at me. "I will ask you this again, Erin," suddenly, his voice was dead serious, sending shivers down my spine.

"Do you really not remember me? Anything? Even a little speck?" he sighed when I shook my head in denial.

He let out a humourless chuckle, wetting his lips and said, "I've been wanting to see you for thirteen years and when I finally see you, you tell me you don't even remember a damn thing about me."

Thirteen years? To see me?

"Well, thirteen years are a lot. But, are you sure I'm the one you're looking for? I mean, it could be someone else or you're just mistaking me as someone else?" I tried to reason and lighten up the situation.

He scoffed. "Are you serious?" he came closer to me, anger rising within his eyes. I stepped back when I realised his each steps were harsh and fast.

"It has been always you." He said quietly, looking coldly at me as I swallowed and my back whacked against the wall behind me.

Just when he was about to say something else with his intimidating voice, a hand was placed in his shoulders. Keith.

Ember craned his head to see him, his eyes now soften as he mouthed: "Why can't she recognise me?"

"As I said Ember, we'll talk about this later." Keith gave him a tight smile and Ember walked away from me and I finally breathed properly.

"Alright, enough sweet moments with your childhood sweetheart. It is time you get ready before you get called again," Zenix clasped his hands.

"Jesus, does he always scare people like that?" I asked, shaking my head with a horrified face.

"No, actually. He's just pissed off at everything for a while. Things aren't going according to his plans. He'll be fine." Keith looked at Ember who was taking out something from a wooden cupboard frantically.

Taking it out, he closed the cupboard louder than he should have. Turning around, I saw him holding a wig. Rusting some dust off of it, he came to me again, this time his eyes no longer showing any anger. They seemed a bit calmed and relaxed and yet again, I couldn't shake off the feeling of his eyes being artificial.

He pointed towards my head with his long slender finger and I gave him a confused face. "Huh?"

I touched my head and realised my uneven bangs were tied with a hair tier which made me ask, "Who tied my hair?" I chuckled when I realised it was tied horribly.

Ember sighed and said, "I did. It kept falling into your eyes. So, I tied it somehow."

He came closer to me and helped me to untie my hair which he couldn't do successfully as he was practically pulling my hair instead of the hair tier and I was screaming at the top of my lungs-- which wasn't helpful at all.

Then, we let join Keith and he couldn't do as well. "It's my hair tie. I need it now!" Ember exclaimed when three of us couldn't untie my hair.

"Three of you are hopeless," I heard Zenix grumbling from the other side, shaking his head.

I sighed. "Don't you have anymore?"

"I need this one!"

Scoffing, I tried my best to untie the tier and after three of us pulling it for a few minutes, it finally worked! Just that a few strands of hair had to be sacrificed in the process of doing it.

While in the middle of taking out my hair from the hair tier, Ember snatched it from me, leaving me a bit surprised. "Let me take out the hairs! It's yours, right?" I tried to take it from him but he already used it.

First, he slipped the black hair tier in his wrist and pulled back the hair which always covered his eyes and forehead. After pulling back the amount of hair he wanted, he slipped out the hair tier from his wrist using his teeth and tied it.

Although, I was sure he wanted all of his hair to be tied back, it didn't happen as he wished as instead, most of his white hair slipped out from various parts of the hair tier.

He huffed when his attempts failed. "I'm already late enough," he mumbled and took the wig from his bed.

Not wasting any time, he put on his wig and I saw it was black thick false hair and unlike his natural white long hair, it was short and was much like Keith.

Then, he walked towards Zenix, facing him. "My eyes," he said, standing straight. "Are they okay or is the colour going to wear off soon?" He asked while I stood there, my eyebrows so knotted because of confusion, it hurt my eyes.

"As long as people are not seeing your eyes from a close distance, I think you'll be fine. It's not that bad," Zenix replied nonchalantly, his deep voice casual and cool.

What's going on here?

"Hey, Keith," I nudged Keith in his elbow, still eyeing Ember and Zenix dubiously. "Are they like, okay?" I whispered.

Keith only laughed, and I noticed how his gray eyes turned into two small crescent shapes when he laughed so lightly.

Just then, Ember faced Keith and ran a hand through his dark brown hair, as if fixing any part of it. "How do I look? Do I look like father?"

"Yes, exactly like him," Keith assured truthfully and smiled. A sad smile.

"There's so much going on in my head I feel like my head is about to explode," I threw my hands in the air in disbelief while walking around the room, circling around it and counting my breaths as a way to calm myself.

These three will make me lose my mind today.

Isn't it already lost?

By the time I was done with calming myself, Ember was already dressed flawlessly in an elegant double breasted cavalier vest which fitted his mascular body perfectly and it was rich black brocade fabric with gold and black stitched designs on it. It also had a stand up to collar and wide sweeping lapels. I didn't realise I was admiring his beauty for so long until suddenly his voice snapped me back to reality.

"Keith will tell you about this world, how it works and what happened earlier. I'm sure you're new to everything that just happened. And, we'll discuss about you later," Ember looked at me, his peculiarly luminous brown eyes bored into mine.

I nodded in response, wondering if he was drunk and insane for saying how this world works.

Ember faced Keith and Zenix and said sternly, "Keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't escape."

Hearing this from Ember, my curiosity grew even more and suddenly, I had an urge to escape as reality dawned upon me.

I didn't know these three at all and what if whatever he said about me not remembering him was all a lie? Him knowing my name was enough creepy to me. How could I get my self involved in such a mess? I had to get out from here and find my apartment and also Nathan.

I took a look at Keith and scoffed. He looked like a weak and timid guy to me. Just one punch in his face is enough for me to knock him down and then I'd take the route which Ember was going to use for getting out.

And then I took a brief look at Zenix. Zenix would be hard to knock out as his muscles seemed pretty built up and he also looked pretty tough but I could always use the vases placed here and there in this room to hit his head and make him pass out.

"Erin, wait for me." Ember said, looking at me.

And tilting my head, I gave him a sweet smile, already planning my escape.

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Amber thinking Keith is a timid and weak guy makes me laugh nervously because she clearly doesn't have any idea-

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Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate it. *hugs*

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