“Abrial.”

Abrial groaned. She opened one eye, but it was hard to see anything in the pale moonlight.

“Leave me alone.”

“Abrial.” Someone was shaking her arm firmly.

Abrial blinked groggily, huffing in irritation. A pale, heart shaped face swam above her, solidifying into Finley’s delicate features.

“Finley?”

Finley frowned down at her seriously, her hazel eyes glimmering with unease.

“Abrial, drink this.” She shoved a steaming cup of herbal tea with a stinging scent towards Abrial, who drank it, half-conscious of what she was doing. The tea stung her throat, heating up her insides like a warm fire and pulling her awake. Abrial spat out the sour taste.

“Hey! What was that?”

“A tonic for waking you up more quickly. Abrial, something bad is going to happen. You need to be on your guard.”

“Huh? You mean, my parents sending me away? I already know about that — ”

“No.” Finley interrupted her, her expression grim. She helped Abrial sit up, and then got up and started to search Abrial’s room, lifting messy robes and picking up velvet pillows like she was trying to find something small. “Your mother instructed me to come tell you that you are to go to the east wing as soon as possible. She wants you to receive acupuncture; I am sure of it.”

Abrial frowned. Her voice was confused and hoarse from screaming when she spoke. “Acupuncture? Right now? Why?”

Finley’s eyes darted to the door. She pursed her lips darkly, picking up something glittering and black: one of Abrial’s daggers. It was the one she always held in her right hand — Dohyun.

Abrial stared as Finley knelt by Abrial’s side and began to dig around in Abrial’s scarlet night robes. Her face began to heat up.

“...Wh-what are you doing?”

Swiftly, Finley stowed the dagger within the folds of Abrial’s robes.

“I am hiding this here, so that you can defend yourself if needed. Friedrick and two other guards are waiting outside to escort you to the east wing.”

“Guards?”

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Finley put a finger to her own mouth to tell Abrial to be quiet. On the other hand, Abrial’s eyes had gone red with rage.

“How am I supposed to be quiet? You’re telling me my mother sent guards to bring me to get acupuncture in the middle of the night? What the fuck’s going on?!”

Finley took Abrial’s hands firmly, glancing at the door, which was half-open. In a low voice, she leaned down and murmured quickly and steadily:

“Listen to me, Abrial. I have had a suspicion for some time that your mother sends your tutors to get acupuncture in the east wing after each lesson in order to alter their memories. There is a type of magical needlework that can do so, though the technique is rare and fragile. I suspect that is what she plans to have done to you — to make you forget the secret you discovered about yourself.”

Abrial’s brow furrowed as thoughts raced through her mind at the speed of light. Her fingers pressed into Finley’s skin.

“You’re saying…she wants to make me forget about the birth certificate, and that I was born in the Year of the Lotus? Or — ” her pupils dilated with disbelief, “ — what if she wants to do something even worse?! I don’t care about the birthday stuff, who cares if I was born in the Year of the Lotus? But what if — what if she wants to make me forget that I don’t want to get married?”

Finley’s eyes flickered with confusion, and her hands tightened on Abrial’s.

“Married? You are getting married?”

Abrial hissed to herself seethingly, not hearing Finley. “That must be it! Fuck! She’s even worse than I thought! This is just demonic! And heartless! What the fuck?! How can she do that to me? And…and to my tutors! What’s she been altering their memories for? Has she been doing this to Instructor Wei, too? What the fuck is wrong with her?!”

Abrial’s fingers continued to dig into Finley’s wrist. Fierce shadows of fire danced in her eyes.

Suddenly, a looming shadow appeared in the doorway.

“Miss Finley Fellner. Are you having trouble?” Friedrick’s deep, thick voice reverberated in the room. It carried the sense of a threat.

Finley blinked expressionlessly up at him, her features cold.

“No, Friedrick. I simply did not want to wake Abrial too suddenly. Abrial — are you ready to go now?”

Behind her, Abrial had already risen to her feet like a specter.

“Yeah. I’m very awake now.” Both her voice and sneer were frosty. “Lead the way to the east wing, Friedrick — just like my mother told you to.”

Friedrick nodded and backed out of the room, gesturing for Abrial to follow. Abrial stormed out of the room into the hall, followed by Finley. Nobody bothered to close the door.

In the hall stood waiting two more interior house guard. They stood behind Abrial, while Friedrick led the way in front. Finley strode beside Abrial, gripping the folds of her dress and looking very grim. Her hazel eyes seemed strangely glazed, as though her mind was somewhere else, speedily forming a plan.

Friedrick led them to the east wing. The shadows on the walls flickered in the light of the candles along the walls. Abrial had always hated them for the way they made everything look like a dream.

He stopped outside of a barely-used sitting room at the very end of the east wing. Abrial had never been inside that she could remember; this was too close to where her parents slept for her to ever want to come here. Friedrick motioned for her to enter with enormous hands.

“Is the acupuncturist waiting inside?” Abrial heard Finley ask calmly behind her.

Before Friedrick answered, the door closed behind her with an ominous click, and Abrial was alone.