Sori wa Mu - Part II

Disclaimer: AI assited in the finalization of the art. It also contributed as an editor to the text. All final edits were reviewed by me.

Chapter 12

Midday sunlight spilled across Mu's face, and Sori was already gone.

Mu gets dressed in the usual white cotton under clothes they give out for free to anyone, and with glee adds their own black outer garments and a decorated sash. Before leaving, Mu checked the mirror by the door, nodded approvingly at themself, and stepped outside.

Their cottage is a little far removed from the main town of the island, Baekdo. Mu knows exactly where to look first to find Sori.

“SORI!” Mu calls as they enter the library.

The librarian gives Mu a stern look, but Mu ignores it, knowing full well there isn’t much they can do about a noisy visitor. Without any response, as usual, Mu begins checks the corner window seat, the philosophy alcove, and the cushiest chair near the astronomy section, all to no avail. They do one overall sweep of the aisles of shelved books, then move on to the next place.

Sori doesn’t normally go to study on weekends, but she’s done it before, so Mu heads to the academy. A puff of smoke drifted from one of the classrooms.

"Not again," Mu chuckles.

Daewang, a talking squirrel with a crown-shaped nut on his head is working on his latest contraption. Dara calmly, silently opens the window, and she’s surprised to see Mu there.

“Seen Sori?”

“You’re more likely to have seen her,” Dara replies softly. She absentmindedly prunes one of her large wings.

Suddenly from behind a familiar voice calls out, “Yo! Seen Sori?”

Mu frowns at Balgan, “That’s what I was asking.”

Mu’s eyes drift to an assortment of wild flowers in Balgan’s hands. As Mu stares at them, he hides the bouquet behind his back. If he wasn’t already red, he would blush.

“What are those for?” Mu asks bluntly.

Dara leans out the window, and her eyes widen curiously, “Yes, Balgan, what or WHO are they for?”

“W-what? These are just… a snack!” He crams a handful of flowers into his mouth. “Anyways, I’ll be on my way.” Dropping a few flowers, he hastily rushes away.

Mu picks up one of the abandoned blossoms and takes a nibble.

“Interesting…”

“Aren’t you looking for someone, Mu?” Dara smiles pleasantly, used to dealing with Daewang and Mu patiently and gently.

“Oh, yes, thanks!”

Mu picks up a few more flowers and munches them on the way to the pier.

Madam’s ship isn’t there, but that’s to be expected. It’s almost that time of the year.

An old man Hara is sitting on the wooden planks in what appears to be meditation.

“Hara, sorry to disturb you. Do you have any idea where Sori might be?”

Hara’s eyes flutter open and he looks at Mu vacantly for a moment. “She was visiting Baek Jeom, but she left.”

After a moment he adds, “This time of year survivors tend to gaze in contemplation at the sea. Know any good spots?”

Before Mu can answer, Hara returns to his meditative state.

“I ran all around town for nothing.” Mu mutters as they head back towards their cottage.

Not far from there, a tree grows haphazardly on a cliff hanging over the water. Wave after wave hits the bottom. It’s a little unnerving if you ask Mu. But Sori is there, sitting, thinking. Mu sighs with relief, then takes a seat by Sori’s side.

“What’s bothering you?” Mu asks.

Sori doesn’t look away from the horizon, “It’s almost that time, right?”

Mu nods.

“I wonder who it will be.”

Without trying to sound too flippant, Mu mutters, “At least we have a break for a couple more years.”

Hurriedly, hoping Sori didn’t catch that, Mu adds, “What if they know more than we did back then? What if they do better?”

Sori frowns deeply, “I wish they didn’t have to.”

Almost exactly one year ago, they had been offered up as a sort of sacrifice to the sea dragon. They were able to perform something that touched its heart, and were spared… but spared from what? Mu shuddered at the thought. Sori continued to stare seriously at the horizon, looking for a storm.

Chapter 13

The academy courtyard smelled faintly of smoke.

That was not unusual.

Mu stepped over a blackened patch of grass and followed Sori toward the rear doors, where one of the Haras stood waiting with his hands folded into the opposite sleeves of his robe. He looked exactly like the Hara at the pier, except this one had a pale green cord tied around his waist rather than blue.

Mu had never learned whether the cords meant anything.

“Good,” Hara said when they approached. “You’re here.”

Dara was already standing beside him, one large wing tucked neatly behind her while she smoothed a bent feather back into place. Daewang crouched near the wall, tightening a tiny leather strap around an object that appeared to be either a telescope or a weapon.

With Daewang, there was often little difference.

“What are we doing?” Mu asked.

Hara looked toward the object in Daewang’s paws.

“Something outside.”

Daewang glanced up. “Why outside?”

“It is safer to perform dangerous experiments outside.”

Hara continued looking at him.

Daewang slowly placed the object behind his back.

“It isn’t dangerous,” he said.

Something inside it clicked.

A thread of smoke curled over his shoulder.

Hara turned and began walking toward the academy gardens.

“Outside,” he repeated.

Behind the building, beyond the training yard and the narrow orchard, lay a broad field divided into two uneven patches. One side was crowded with ordinary plants: low green herbs, pale weeds, broad-leafed vegetables and little white flowers growing wherever they pleased.

The other side glimmered.

Silver veins ran through dark leaves. Blossoms opened and closed even without wind. A cluster of blue mushrooms chimed softly whenever someone stepped near them, and a tall purple flower turned its head to watch the group approach.

Mu waved at it.

The flower did not wave back.

Hara stopped between the two fields.

“These plants were once the same,” he said. “Some became magical. Some did not.”

Mu leaned toward a red berry that pulsed like a tiny heart.

Hara reached out and gently redirected their face with two fingers.

“Your task is to determine how.”

“That’s it?” Mu asked.

“That is enough.”

“Are there rules?”

Hara sat down in the grass without answering. He folded his legs, rested his hands upon his knees and closed his eyes.

Mu waited.

Hara did not move.

“Is he going to explain more?” they whispered.

“No,” Sori said.

Mu stared at the two fields.

Then they clapped their hands together.

“All right. It’s a contest.”

Dara looked over. “Did he say that?”

“He didn’t say it wasn’t.”

Mu pointed dramatically at Sori, then at Dara, then at Daewang, who was no longer listening.

“I will discover the secret first,” Mu declared. “And when I win, you must all admit that I am the greatest magical plant investigator Baekdo has ever known.”

“There may not have been any others,” Sori said.

“That only makes my victory more certain.”

Daewang was already standing in front of the tall purple flower, holding a magnifying glass up to one glossy petal.

“Hm,” he murmured. “Responsive movement. Possible sensitivity to heat, sound or nearby magical energy.”

The flower bent closer.

Daewang adjusted the glass.

“Its interior structure appears—”

The blossom opened wide and swallowed him.

For a moment, no one moved. The flower straightened again, considerably rounder than before. Dara crossed the field in three long strides and kicked it. The flower gagged. With a wet popping sound, Daewang shot from its mouth and landed upside down in the grass. His crown-shaped nut rolled several feet away. Daewang sat up. Purple pollen covered his fur from his ears to the tip of his tail. He got out a tiny notebook from his backpack and started scribbling.

“Interior appears larger than its external dimensions would suggest,” he muttered.

Dara picked several sticky petals out of the fur around his face.

Sori watched them.

“You’re always saving him,” she said.

Dara paused.

“He isn’t your responsibility.”

Daewang sneezed a cloud of violet dust directly into Dara’s face. Dara closed her eyes.

“I know,” she said softly. She continued cleaning him anyway.

Mu wandered into the magical field. The red berry was still pulsing. They plucked it and held it beneath their nose.

“Mu,” Sori said.

“I’m only smelling it.”

Mu placed it on their tongue. The berry squealed. Mu spat it out. It landed in the dirt, shuddered indignantly and buried itself.

“Interesting,” Mu said.

They tried a blue leaf instead. It slapped them.

Sori left the others and walked into the ordinary field. The plants there were quieter. They bent beneath her feet and lifted again after she passed. She chose a bare patch near the centre and sat down.

Mu rubbed their cheek where the leaf had struck them.

“Are you copying Hara?”

Mu looked toward Hara, then crouched beside a cluster of orange flowers. One of the orange flowers leaned toward Mu’s ankle. Mu leaned away from it. The flower leaned farther. Mu walked a few steps away. It popped out of the ground, and it followed them on its roots like little feet.

“Oh, you like me.”

Across the field, Daewang had finished recording his experience inside the purple blossom and moved on to a plant with translucent thorns.

He tapped one with the end of a metal instrument.

“Daewang,” Dara warned.

A thick vine uncoiled from the earth behind him.

Daewang turned.

“Oh.”

The vine swung.

Dara threw herself forward and pulled him aside just before it struck the ground. Soil sprayed across her dress and wings.

A second vine rose. Then a third. The original plant swelled rapidly, its thin stem thickening into a twisting trunk covered in long black thorns. Roots tore free of the soil and crawled across the field. Mu stared.

“Do you think this is part of the lesson?”

“No,” Dara said.

The thorn plant lunged.

Mu ducked beneath one vine and grabbed another with both hands. It dragged them several feet through the dirt before they wrapped their legs around it.

Daewang climbed onto Dara’s shoulder and aimed his smoking device toward the roots.

“What does that do?” Dara asked.

“I am about to find out.”

He pressed the button. A bright green spark struck the plant. Every thorn doubled in size. Daewang stared at the device.

“I will note that result.”

Dara seized him by his backpack and leapt as another vine swept beneath them. Her wings opened once, lifting them both above the plant.

Mu was still clinging to the first vine.

“Some help?”

Dara dropped Daewang into a bush and dove. She struck the vine with both feet. It slammed into the earth, freeing Mu, but two others curled around her wings. Dara’s calm expression vanished.

“Let go.”

The plant tightened. Dara grabbed one vine in each hand and pulled. The fibres strained. Her wings flared wide, sending a gust across the field. Leaves and petals filled the air. With a sharp crack, both vines tore apart.

Mu landed beside her.

“Thank you. That was incredible.”

The thorn plant shuddered. Through it all, Sori remained seated in the ordinary field.

The wind moved around her. Her breathing slowed. Beneath her palms, the soil was warm. She could feel the damage elsewhere in the garden: torn roots, split stems, crushed grass. She could feel smaller things too. A dry patch below the surface. A seed struggling against a stone. Tiny insects moving through tunnels in the dark.

Sori did not ask the plants what made them magical. They did not think in words. They simply felt. The roots beneath her shifted. A faint light appeared between the blades of grass. A low hum passed through the field. Light spread outward from Sori in a slow circle.

The ordinary grass brightened first, each blade glowing pale gold along its edges. The little white flowers opened all at once. Warm light travelled through their stems and into their roots, passing beneath the earth like water.

It reached the thorn plant.

The vines loosened. Thorns returned to their original size. Cracks along the plant’s trunk sealed themselves. Its tangled roots sank back into the ground.

Hara opened his eyes.

He looked first at Mu, Dara and Daewang lying in a heap.

“As expected,” he said. “No one discovered the answer.”

Hara turned toward Sori.

The ordinary flowers surrounding her now shimmered with the same gentle light as the magical field. Their leaves were fuller. Their stems stood straighter. Even the dry patch of soil had darkened with moisture.

Hara walked over and knelt.

He gently touched a small white blossom. Rootlike threads of light spread across his fingers beneath his skin.

“Ah,” he said.

Sori opened her eyes.

Hara looked at her with mild interest, which, for a Hara, was nearly astonishment.

“Healing. Impressive.”

Dara hissed quietly in pain as she tried to fold her wing. Several scratches crossed the feathers and skin beneath. Sori patted the ground next to her, “Nap time, anyone?”

Hara gave a small nod, and returned to his usual position. Sori looked down at the little white flowers glowing around her feet. One tilted toward her hand. Carefully, she touched its petals. It was warm.

As the others laid down next to Sori, Mu with their head in her lap, and Daewang snuggled in the fold of one of Dara’s wings, they felt soothed. Light traveled through their bodies. Scratches disappeared, wounds closed, and pain faded.

“You’re always the hero,” Sori murmured to Dara. “Or the martyr.”

Dara looked up. “You were watching?”

“Those two can’t take care of themselves.” Sori’s eyes moved to the scratches disappearing beneath Dara’s feathers. “And you were hurt.”

“Were hurt.” Dara smiled and brushed her cheek against the white flowers near Sori’s folded leg.

Sori watched her, her expression tightening.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?”

Dara lifted her face into the soft gold light.

“Next year, it’s my turn.”

Chapter 14

Dara posed elegantly with perfect posture. Balgan and Daewang applauded, as they did every time she finished her prepared sequence for the ceremony. Mu watched from the grass, chin in their hands.

"Why does she have to learn all this?"

"So she can survive,” Sori replied seriously.

Later, while Dara practiced singing, Daewang crawled onto her head and strapped a canon-like contraption on her like a hat.

"Just in case," he said proudly.

“I don’t need it, but thank you," Dara smiled as she removed the device.

Daewang wiped a little tear from his eye.

“Hey, it’s not for a while yet.” She patted him with her wing.

“I know…” He sniffled. Balgan heard it and covered his mouth.

“Oh, not you too!” Dara laughed.

Sori sat beneath a tree, quietly sewing a tear in Dara's sash.

Mu flopped down beside her.

"I don’t like it."

“What?”

"The way you and Dara talk."

"What way?"

"Like everything's already decided."

“It is.”

"No! There has to be another way."

"There isn't."

"There always is."

Sori sighed.

"I can't leave."

"Why not?"

"Eun is gone. Here I have a purpose."

Silence.

“What if you had a clue about Eun.”

Sori looked at Mu wide-eyed.

"What are you saying?"

"We could run away. We could take everyone to the royal castle-”

Sori frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"You remember that little picture? The one you showed me when we first met?"

“Yeah?”

“I saw that person once."

“Where?”

"At the castle."

Silence.

"How?"

Mu looked confused.

"I lived there."

Chapter 15

Where to start?

Ah, yes, I was a lizard.

A very small one.

I flattened myself against the cold stone floor and scurried past a pair of guards without being noticed. Neither looked down. Adults rarely did.

As a lizard, I could go almost anywhere.

I followed the smell of lunch into the kitchens.

The soup smelled amazing.

I thought about swimming in it.

That seemed rude.

So, I just licked the spoon.

It didn’t taste as good as I thought it would.

It needed salt.

The cook came in, so I continued down the corridor.

I had spent several days trying to reach Mother’s room.

The servants spoke about her constantly, but I had never seen her outside the great hall, where she sat very straight and rarely spoke.

Her door was locked.

I pressed my lizard face against the gap beneath it.

There was just enough room.

I wriggled through.

The room was enormous and almost empty. Heavy curtains covered the windows. There were no servants, no guards and no ladies waiting nearby.

Mother stood alone in front of a mirror.

I climbed up a wall behind her, where I could see what she saw, her reflection.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then Mother closed her eyes.

The air around her trembled.

Her reflection blurred. Her shoulders narrowed, then widened. Dark hair flashed silver. The fingers pressed against the table lengthened into claws.

The collar around her throat lit red.

Mother cried out.

Her body snapped back into its familiar shape. She caught herself against the table, breathing hard.

Mother struck the floor with her fist.

Then she stayed there.

For a very long time.

Eventually, she stood.

She tried again.

Her skin shimmered. Something vast and pale moved beneath it, too large to belong inside a human body. The mirror filled with the suggestion of wings.

The collar tightened.

Mother fell to her knees.

This time she made no sound.

I don’t know why she kept trying.

She was suffering all alone, all this time.

I wanted to say something.

But I was only a lizard.

A soft knock came from the window.

Mother froze.

Another knock followed.

The pattern sounded practiced.

She pulled herself upright and crossed the room, one hand still pressed against the collar. When she opened the window, someone climbed in from the narrow ledge outside.

And it was them, Eun.

They looked almost exactly like your picture.

Eun leaned close to Mother’s ear, I assume they were whispering.

The window was open.

Perfect.

Escaping through windows is much easier than doors.

I was halfway across the threshold when I saw something very strange.

I was halfway across the threshold when I saw something very strange.

Mu fell silent.

Beneath the tree, Sori stared at them.

"What?"

Mu blinked.

"They kissed."

Chapter 16

“Is this what it’s like?” Sori murmured to herself as she walked through town.

“Not being able to hear thoughts.”

She laughed once, though there was no humor in it.

“You know someone for so long…”

“…and it turns out you never knew them at all.”

Her feet carried her through the marketplace almost on their own.

Mu lived in the castle.

A cart rolled across the road in front of her. She almost walked straight into it.

The driver shouted.

Sori stopped just in time.

She waited for it to pass before crossing.

Mu knew.

Why didn't they tell me?

Why didn't Eun come?

The thoughts refused to settle into anything sensible.

Eventually, they all became one.

Mu’s mother and Eun met at the castle.

They kissed.

She found herself standing at the end of the pier.

Hara sat exactly where he always did.

Sori tapped his shoulder.

His eyes opened slowly.

“This better be important.”

Sori hadn't planned what to say.

The words simply came out.

“Is my home country missing a princess?”

Hara blinked.

“I think Mu might be her.”

He looked into Sori's eyes for a long moment.

Then he nodded once.

“I see.”

His eyes closed again.

He resumed meditating.

Elsewhere, another Hara entered Baek Jeom's office.

“She believes Mu is the missing princess.”

Baek Jeom froze.

A single sheet of paper slipped from her hand onto the floor.

“Who else knows?”

“I cannot be certain. She spoke with one of us at the pier.”

Baek Jeom closed her eyes.

She took one slow breath.

“Should I summon Sori?”

“No.”

Another quiet moment passed.

“When people discover something this dangerous,” Baek Jeom said softly, “they rarely survive long enough to explain it.”

Hara waited.

“We must offer them safe passage.”

“To Mu?”

“To all of them.”

She opened her eyes.

“Mu. Sori. Anyone else who might already know.”

Hara inclined his head.

Baek Jeom looked toward the window, her expression unusually grave.

“Get them out of Baekdo.”

Chapter 17

The sea was unusually quiet.

Madam stood at the helm with her arms folded, staring toward the horizon.

She had barely spoken since they left Baekdo.

Mu noticed she also hadn't complained once.

Normally, Madam complained about everything.

The wind.

The weather.

The gulls.

Balgan's steering.

Poong's singing.

She didn’t even seem to mind Daewang’s inventions clinking and clanking.

When Mu wandered too close to the edge of the deck, Madam simply rested a hand on their shoulder and gently guided them back.

It was strange.

Sori noticed it too.

Poong, balanced high in the rigging, suddenly shouted.

"Ship!"

Everyone looked up.

Far across the water, dark sails emerged from the mist.

Madam's face hardened.

"Balgan."

"I see it."

"Turn us away."

The crew moved immediately.

Madam pulled hard at the wheel.

Poong climbed down to help with the sails.

Balgan crawled all over the ship, checking rigging twice.

The ship answered.

It turned.

So did the other one.

It was much larger.

Far faster.

Madam watched silently for several moments.

Then...

"They've seen us."

No one replied.

The warship cut across the water with frightening speed.

Within minutes it pulled alongside them.

Its hull loomed over Madam's little vessel like a cliff.

Soldiers lined its rails.

One stepped forward.

His voice carried easily across the sea.

"This vessel is ordered to prepare for boarding."

"No resistance will be tolerated."

Silence.

Hooks flew across the gap.

Ropes tightened.

Wood crashed against wood.

Boots landed on the deck.

One after another.

Armored soldiers spread across the ship until no one remained unguarded.

Then another figure crossed the boarding plank.

He wore no armor.

Only a long dark blue coat embroidered with silver thread.

Everyone instinctively stepped back.

Except Madam.

She didn't move.

The King looked over the gathered children.

Then at Madam.

"Prepare the collars.”

The soldiers moved immediately.

Two approached Madam.

Sori stepped forward.

"Wait—"

The King stopped beside her.

His eyes fell to the pendant hanging around her neck.

Without a word, he tore it free.

The cord snapped.

The amulet flew into the sea.

Sori stared after it.

The King looked directly into her eyes.

He said nothing.

Then he pointed past her.

"That one."

His finger rested on Mu.

Mu froze.

"No."

The word escaped before they realized they had spoken.

The soldiers advanced.

"No."

Mu stumbled backward.

"No!"

Hands grabbed their arms.

Someone forced their head back.

A band of cold silver pressed against their throat.

Mother.

The collar.

"No!"

Click.

The world flashed white.

Something erupted beneath Mu's skin.

Pain tore through every bone.

Their body twisted.

Hands became claws.

Dark fur spread across trembling arms.

A tail slammed against the deck.

Something heavy grew out of their shoulderblades.

The soldiers staggered backward.

Nobody spoke.

Mu couldn't breathe.

They looked down at shaking hands that weren't hands anymore.

They clawed desperately at the silver collar.

It didn't move.

The King stepped closer.

He studied Mu in silence.

For a while he looked disgusted, but then he looked Mu in the eyes.

He took a deep breath.

Then...

"No."

He turned away.

"Can't be her."

Several soldiers reached into their belts and produced strange masks.

One fitted his over his face.

Another pulled a small metal canister free.

Poong was the first to understand.

"Gas!"

The canister struck the deck.

A hiss.

White vapor poured across the ship.

Madam lunged toward Mu.

Balgan jumped on a soldier’s back.

Daewang fumbled desperately through his satchel.

Dara spread a wing to protect Sori.

The world blurred.

Voices became distant.

The deck tilted beneath Mu's feet.

Their claws scraped uselessly against the silver collar.

It wouldn't come off.

The last thing Mu remembered was clawing at the collar.

Then darkness.

Chapter 18

Something smelled like smoke.

Sori opened her eyes. Surrounded by warm feathers. Dara.

For a long moment, she couldn't remember where she was.

Then someone groaned nearby.

"Ow..."

Daewang rubbed the back of his head.

"I think..."

He blinked.

"...I was kidnapped."

Balgan sighed.

"Okay, genius."

One by one, everyone woke.

Mu was already awake.

Their claws resting helplessly on the collar as they faced the furthest corner in shame.

Dara sat up slowly, keeping her wings wrapped around Sori.

Poong immediately rushed to the bars.

"Madam?"

Only silence answered.

"Madam's gone," Poong said quietly.

The room beyond the cell was little more than a stone chamber.

A fire crackled in one corner.

Two guards sat beside it.

One was enormous.

Broad shouldered, covered in coarse brown hair, with the head of a wild boar.

The other was impossibly tall and painfully thin, his yellow skin stretched tight across sharp bones.

The boar looked up first.

"Oh."

"They're awake."

The tall one glanced over lazily.

"Took them long enough."

The boar wandered toward the bars.

He looked each of them over with open curiosity.

"Huh."

He pointed at Balgan.

"Too tough.”

He leaned toward Daewang.

"Eh, tried it. Not a fan."

Then Dara.

"You look like you’d taste gamey."

Dara tightened her wings around Sori.

The tall guard snorted.

"The human? Not interested. I heard they taste similar to my kind."

Finally the boa’s eyes stopped and focused on Mu.

His eyes widened.

"Huh."

He crouched.

"What are you?"

Mu kept facing where the walls met.

The boar scratched behind one ear.

"Never seen something like that before."

The tall guard wandered over.

He peered through the bars.

"Hm."

"Bit of cat."

"Bit of bird."

"Bit of person."

“A Griffin of some kind?”

He shrugged.

"Close enough."

The boar nodded thoughtfully.

"I've always wondered..."

The tall guard folded his arms.

"You were told to keep them alive."

"I know."

The boar frowned in concentration.

"They said alive. They didn't say..."

He looked back at Mu.

"...in one piece."

The tall guard considered this.

"I suppose not."

The boar brightened.

"Think about it!"

Silence.

The tall guard scratched his chin.

"I've never seen a griffin."

"No?"

"No. I suppose it could be that."

The boar looked back at Mu.

"If it's close enough to a bird..."

He grinned.

"I bet it'd make good barbecue."

The tall guard nodded once.

"I've always wanted to try griffin wings."

"They're probably not really a griffin."

"They're close enough."

The two of them wandered back toward the fire, still debating.

"I wonder if you season them first."

"You season everything first."

"I don't season apples."

"You should."

The conversation drifted into comfortable disagreement.

No one in the cell spoke.

Mu slowly folded their wings tighter around themselves.

Chapter 19

Madam hated being tied to chairs.

It was uncomfortable.

The rope was poor quality.

And the man pacing in front of her wouldn't stop talking.

"...so if you'd simply cooperate—"

"I won't."

The interrogator sighed.

"You haven't even heard the question."

"I know."

Madam smiled pleasantly.

"I still won't."

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Very well."

He leaned closer.

"Who are the children?"

Madam tilted her head.

"Which ones?"

The interrogator frowned.

"The ones you brought here."

"I've brought many children many places."

He slammed both hands onto the table.

"The horned one."

"The feathered one."

"The shapeshifter."

Madam nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh."

"You know their names."

He waited.

Madam smiled.

"What makes you think I’d tell you?"

The interrogator closed his eyes.

"I see this is going nowhere."

He sighed and turned toward the door.

"I'll send for someone less patient."

"Wonderful."

The door opened.

When the next guard stepped inside, Madam stood. The chair remained on the floor. The guard blinked.

"What?"

Madam picked up the chair and struck him across the jaw with it.

Wood exploded.

The interrogator barely had time to shout before the second half of the chair met his face.

Silence.

Madam dusted splinters from her sleeves.

"Much better."

A few minutes later, a guard rounded a corner.

Another guard walked toward him.

"Evening."

"Evening."

As they passed each other...

Thunk.

The unconscious guard was quietly dragged into an empty cell.

The door locked behind him.

Madam adjusted the stolen helmet.

"Close enough."

She continued down the corridor.

Every few cells she stopped.

Unlocked the door.

Some prisoners hesitated.

Others didn't.

Soon alarms echoed through the prison.

Wonderful.

More distractions.

Another pair of guards hurried past.

Madam stepped from an alcove.

Thunk.

Thunk.

She relieved one of them of a ring of keys.

"You won't be needing these."

Eventually she reached a familiar voice.

"Madam?"

Poong.

Everyone looked up.

For the first time since they'd met her...

Madam was grinning.

Mokda had just enough time to look confused.

Madam punched him squarely between the eyes.

He collapsed without another sound.

Kirin spun around.

"Wha-”

Madam hit him with the heavy ring of prison keys.

He fell limp as a noodle.

"There you are."

Poong grabbed the bars with glee.

"I knew you'd come!"

"Obviously."

Balgan folded his arms.

"You took your time."

Then Madam noticed.

Sori knelt on the hay.

Blood covered both of her hands.

Mu lay curled against the wall, ugly stumps poked out of their back.

A faint silver glow spread beneath Sori's trembling hands.

"I've been trying..."

Sori's voice cracked.

"You can’t see the bone, now."

Madam looked once at Mu.

Once at Sori.

Then toward the fire outside the cell.

She saw meat cooking there.

Everything became clear.

"Ah."

She unlocked the cell.

"Out."

No one argued.

She helped Mu gently to their feet.

When everyone had stepped outside, Madam grabbed Mokda by one ankle and dragged him into the cell.

Balgan followed with Kirin.

She searched the keys for the right one, and click. The barred door was locked.

Madam reached into the fire with a stick.

The end glowed orange.

She tossed it into the hay.

For a heartbeat...

Nothing.

Then smoke curled upward.

Flames spread across the straw.

Mokda stirred.

Kirin coughed unconsciously.

Poong stared.

"Madam?"

She didn't look back.

"I run this place now."

Dara had a wing wrapped around Sori. Daewang sat on her shoulder. He had lost his crown. Balgan supported Mu. Poong held up the rear, gesturing for them to follow Madam.

“Quickly!”

The corridor behind them flickered with orange light.

Chapter 20

The prison had become remarkably cooperative.

Madam discovered that asking questions was much easier after people had been locked in their own cells for several hours.

The warden, especially, had become surprisingly helpful.

"So," Madam said pleasantly, jingling a ring of keys.

"Let's start with the obvious one."

She held up the small silver key.

"Where did this come from?"

The warden hesitated only briefly.

"The King's workshop."

"And why does it fit that collar?"

"Every collar has a matching key."

Madam nodded.

"I assumed as much."

She unlocked another notebook she'd "borrowed."

"Next question."

"Who made them?"

"The King."

"The King made the collars?"

"Yes."

"He designed them himself."

Daewang's eyes lit up despite himself.

"An artificer..."

The warden nodded reluctantly.

"The greatest alive."

"And a psychic."

That caught everyone's attention.

Mu frowned.

"He can hear thoughts."

The room fell silent.

Madam slowly looked toward Mu.

“But no one can read yours… hm.”

The questioning continued.

"There are two kinds of collars."

"The gold ones..."

The warden swallowed.

"...force shapeshifters to remain human."

"And the silver?"

"They reveal a shapeshifter's true form."

Everyone looked at Mu.

Mu looked down at the collar resting on the table.

"No."

The room turned.

Mu shook their head.

"That's not what it does."

The warden frowned.

"It is."

Mu met his eyes.

"No."

They picked up the silver collar.

"It forces one shape."

"...not my true one."

They looked around the room.

"I don't have one."

Silence.

"I've always been all of them."

The jackalope.

The lizard.

The princess.

The monster.

"They're all me."

No one argued.

Not even the warden.

Madam said, "That's unfortunate."

Poong covered her mouth to stop herself laughing.

Even Sori smiled.

Chapter 21

Madam ran a tight ship.

It turned out she ran an even tighter prison.

By the time the sun rose, the prison belonged to everyone except its guards.

Prisoners wandered freely through the courtyard, arguing over supplies.

The guards, meanwhile, complained loudly from behind iron bars.

Madam ignored them.

"I believe," she said, checking another ring of stolen keys, "that concludes our restructuring."

Poong grinned.

Beyond the prison walls stretched an endless blanket of white.

Snow covered the hills.

Dark pine forests disappeared into the distance.

The sea was nowhere to be seen.

Daewang shivered.

"We're very far from Baekdo."

Balgan glanced toward the mountains.

"No villages."

"No roads."

"No ship."

"What now?"

No one answered.

Eventually Sori spoke.

"I think..."

She looked down at the snow.

"...this happened because of me."

Everyone turned.

"I told Hara."

She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I said I thought Mu was the missing princess."

Silence.

"I thought..."

She shook her head.

"I thought I was helping."

Madam stopped searching through the keys.

"Hara is many things."

She selected the small silver key.

"A traitor isn't one of them."

"He told someone."

"Of course he did."

Sori looked confused.

"He tells Baek Jeom everything."

Madam inserted the key into Mu's collar.

"That is precisely why Baek Jeom trusted him."

Click.

"It wasn't betrayal."

The collar loosened.

"It was information."

Sori stared at the ground.

"I acted without thinking."

She swallowed.

"I'm sorry, Mu."

"I shouldn't have assumed."

"I shouldn't have said anything."

Mu looked at the collar resting in Madam's hand.

Then back at Sori.

"For acting harshly..."

Mu smiled.

"...and endangering all of us..."

"I accept your apology."

They paused.

"But..."

Light spread across their skin.

Golden fur dissolved into pale skin.

Their ears rounded.

Their tail disappeared.

Long blonde hair spilled over their shoulders.

Blue eyes blinked against the morning light.

Small white wings unfolded carefully from their back.

Everyone stared.

Mu smiled.

"I really am the missing princess."

Daewang's mouth hung open.

Poong blinked several times.

Balgan sighed.

"I suspected something."

"No you didn't," Dara said.

"No."

Balgan admitted.

"I absolutely did not."

Mu looked over one shoulder.

"My wings..."

They flexed them experimentally.

"They used to be much bigger."

They frowned.

Their body shimmered again.

The princess disappeared.

In her place stood a jackalope with a fox's tail.

Small feathered wings rested neatly against its sides.

"Better."

Mu nodded happily.

"I like this one."

Sori’s eyes glistened with awe.

Madam folded her arms.

"Good. Now."

She looked toward the distant mountains.

"The King believes you're prisoners."

Mu's ears perked up.

"Which means..."

A grin spread across their face.

"...he won't expect visitors."

They looked around at everyone.

"So..."

"Who wants to go to the castle and stir up trouble?"

“I go where Madam goes,” Poong announced loyally.

Daewang nodded.

"I have several ideas."

"They're all terrible," Balgan muttered.

"They're also all yes."

Dara smiled, and looked at Sori.

Sori didn't move.

Snow drifted quietly between them.

“For Eun?” Mu asked tentatively.

Sori nodded.

They all were in agreement.

-Ren