Pov Author
Anna descended the curved staircase slowly, her hand resting lightly against the smooth wooden railing. The house was quiet in the way large houses often were—grand, polished, and filled with soft echoes. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the living room, catching the gold details along the railings and spilling across the marble floor.
Voices drifted upward.
"…No," Alex was saying calmly, his tone light but firm. "They're still young. They have a lot of things to do first—study, build their lives, figure themselves out."
Anna paused halfway down the stairs.
Her mother, laughed softly from the couch.
"Oh relax, I'm not planning their wedding tomorrow," she teased. "I'm just asking for the future."
Marco's deep chuckle followed from somewhere nearby, probably leaning against one of the tall pillars or sitting in his usual armchair.
"For the future?" Marco repeated with amusement.
"Yes," she said. "If you had to choose between my daughters someday, Alex… which one would it be?"
There was a short silence.
Anna took the last step down.
Alex leaned back slightly in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck like someone caught in a trap.
"Well… if I had to choose it would definitely be—"
He stopped.
All three of them were suddenly looking at her.
Anna stood near the bottom of the staircase, her brows slightly drawn together in confusion.
"Anna," Alex said.
She gave a small nod.
"Hey."
His expression shifted into something awkwardly polite.
"How was school?"
"Normal," she replied simply.
He nodded quickly.
"Good… good."
Silence settled over the room like a curtain.
The unfinished sentence hung quietly in the air. Maybe awkwardness.
Alex cleared his throat and stood up, reaching for his jacket from the couch.
"Well… I should get going. I am getting late for my family dinner"
Anna nodded again.
From upstairs, Lily's voice suddenly exploded through the house.
"ALEX!"
The rapid thumping of feet followed.
A moment later Lily came flying down the stairs, her pink dress swaying as she rushed toward him.
"Hi!" she said brightly, practically glowing with excitement.
Alex smiled.
But for a brief second, his eyes flickered back toward Anna.
Lily turned toward her sister.
Then she burst out laughing.
"Woah!"
Anna blinked.
"What?"
"Did you run a marathon in your dream or something?" Lily laughed, pointing at her.
Anna frowned slightly.
"Why?"
"You're sweating like crazy!"
Anna looked down at herself.
Her shirt clung faintly to her skin, and strands of hair stuck slightly to the side of her face.
She hadn't even noticed.
"I… need a shower," she muttered quietly.
Alex nodded quickly.
"Yeah. I should go."
He gave Lily a quick goodbye and walked toward the door.
Anna was already turning back toward the stairs.
---
Warm water rushed over her shoulders as she stood beneath the shower.
Steam slowly filled the bathroom, blurring the mirror and softening the sharp edges of the room.
Anna pressed her palm against the cool tile wall.
Her thoughts were louder than the water.
Was it all a dream ?
The palace halls.
The ancient mirror.
The battles.
The dragons.
Her father.
Yuvan.
Mong.
Shou Feng.
Her chest tightened painfully at the last name.
She remembered the way he had looked at her.
The way his voice had softened whenever he said her name.
The way he held her that last time.
And their last kiss.
Anna shut her eyes tightly, her breathing uneven.
If it had been a dream… why did the memories feel so real?
Why did her heart ache like something had been torn away?
The water continued to fall around her.
But none of it washed the thoughts away.
---
When Anna came downstairs again, her hair was damp but neatly combed. She wore a loose sweater and comfortable pants, looking calmer than before.
In the living room, Lily was dramatically slumped across the couch, covering her eyes with both hands.
"Mamaaa," she whined loudly. "Why is my eyesight getting worse? This is unfair!"
Glinda looked at her over the edge of a magazine.
"You spend ten hours a day staring at screens," she said flatly.
"I want eye surgery!" Lily continued dramatically.
Marco sat beside her with the calm patience of someone used to these outbursts.
"First turn eighteen," he said. "Then you can get surgery."
He glanced behind him.
Anna had just entered the room.
"Right, Anna?"
She nodded lightly.
"Yes. And your eye stability has to stay the same for a whole year before surgery."
Lily groaned loudly.
"That's impossible!"
"Everything is online now!" she complained. "Books, studying, chatting—everything!"
Anna shrugged faintly.
"Yeah… I can't blame you."
Lily suddenly turned toward her.
"You're passing school this year," she said. "How does it feel?"
Anna paused.
For a moment she just looked at her sister.
Then she smiled faintly.
"Very… very good."
The conversation drifted into ordinary things after that.
Timeskip..
School gossip.
Lily complaining about homework.
Normal family noise.
Anna sat quietly at the table, listening but not truly hearing.
Her mind was somewhere else.
Was it really a dream .
The war.
The destruction.
The dragons.
Shou Feng.
Her father.
Yuvan.
Mong.
Every memory felt vivid… detailed… alive.
Too real to be imagined.
---
The ringing bell exploded through the hallway.
Anna blinked.
Suddenly she was standing in school.
Students poured out of classrooms around her, their voices filling the corridor with laughter and chatter.
For a moment she just stood there, disoriented.
Then she walked toward her locker.
The metal door creaked slightly as she opened it.
Inside were old textbooks, notebooks, small photographs, and the quiet remnants of a normal teenage life.
Anna stared at them.
It all looked so distant.
How did I come back here ?
Why?
Bang!
The locker beside hers slammed violently.
Anna froze.
Her eyes slowly lowered.
A hand rested against the metal door.
Strong fingers.
A familiar posture.
Her throat went dry.
She didn't turn.
She already knew.
William leaned closer beside her.
His voice brushed against her ear like a quiet knife.
"Still missing your little Shou Feng?"
Anna's eyes widened.
Her head snapped toward him instantly.
So it was real.
All of it.
Her voice trembled slightly.
"What did you do?"
William smirked.
"I did what was right," he said calmly.
"We didn't belong there."
He leaned slightly closer.
"This place is our world, Anna."
Anger burned through her chest.
She opened her mouth—
"William."
A voice cut sharply through the hallway.
Both of them looked up.
Thomas Sir stood a few steps away, his arms crossed slightly. His expression wasn't angry, but firm enough.
"Stop bothering her."
William raised his hands innocently and stepped back.
"Just talking, sir."
Thomas glanced at Anna.
"You alright?"
She nodded quickly.
"Yes."
Thomas sir was one of the few teachers Anna genuinely trusted. Kind, funny, and calm. The kind of teacher students actually respected.
Some girls thought he was the most handsome teacher in the school.
But he was married—and famously loyal to his wife, who also worked at the school.
Anna took a slow breath.
The hallway noise slowly returned.
---
Later that day, during her final class, something soft hit her shoulder.
Anna looked down.
A folded piece of paper.
She turned slowly.
William sat behind her, leaning back in his chair with a smug expression.
She opened the paper.
Her stomach twisted.
It was a crude drawing of Shou Feng.
Mocking.
Ugly.
Beside it was a badly drawn dragon.
Anna's fingers tightened.
She didn't know why it bothered her so much.
But it did.
Before she could think, she tore the paper cleanly in half.
Then again.
Then again.
William chuckled quietly behind her.
Anna forced herself to face forward.
Her jaw tightened.
She wanted to turn around and punch him.
But she stayed still.
---
When the class ended and the teacher stepped out, the room suddenly erupted.
"Now! " William shouted and Crumpled papers flew through the air.
One hit Anna.
Then another.
Laughter spread through the classroom.
Anna slowly stood up.
Across the room Lily was staring.Her expression hardened instantly.She slammed her book on the desk.
"Alright that's enough."
The room quieted slightly.
"Try that again," she said coldly, glaring around the classroom, "and I swear I'm reporting every single one of you to the Principal."
Her eyes locked on William.
"I will get you suspended if you touch my sister again. Especially in front of me."
She grabbed Anna's bag and dragged her out of the classroom.
---
Inside the car, Lily continued ranting.
"Seriously Anna, why don't you defend yourself? Just punch him once and he'll stop!"
Anna knew if she did something it will only create a chaos and it will get her into principal's office .
But Anna wasn't listening.
Her eyes were distant.
Her mind was somewhere else.
---
That night, Anna sat quietly on the balcony outside her bedroom.
The city lights glittered softly below.
The night breeze moved gently through her hair.
She pulled her knees slightly closer.
Her chest ached.
She missed Mong's ridiculous jokes.
Yuvan's quiet kindness.
The way Kiyoshi had protected her the very first time during her mission to free shou feng.
And Shou Feng…
The memory of his arms around her.
The warmth of his voice.
Anna..
Their last kiss.
Anna's eyes filled slowly with tears.
Her phone buzzed softly beside her.
She wiped her eyes and picked it up.
A school notification.
School Announcement:
All senior students are invited on the trip to the museum of mysteries next week .
Anna stared at the message.
A strange uneasiness crept into her chest.
Because for some reason…
The word museum felt wrong.
Like something waiting.
Like something about to begin again.
___
To be continued...