The night in Whisper-Realm didn't feel like a night at all.
The sky shimmered in streaks of violet and silver, like someone lazily spilled star ink across a black canvas.
There I was again, being poetic.
But I couldn't help but notice the campfires around the Osam tents burning blue, crackling with tiny crystal sparks.
It felt cold... Everything.
Not because of the weather.
But because I was stuck in an unusual place, with no visible option of returning home-- Back to the human world.
I was inside a different world.
Probably a fairytale.
I withdrew from the window and noticed my sleeping bag wasn't tucked in like it should be. A leaflet leaking out caught my eye.
Slipping it out, I noticed it was a book, the front cover was thick and fabricated.
Then I remembered, like a faint memory buzzing through my brain..
..It was my Diary.
My eyes ran through the words in it-- My words.. my handwriting..
I flipped the pages violently like doing that would change what was already written on them.
Before I could breathe, a voice snapped me out of my spiral.
"Osam!"
Quintiel again.
He pushed open the flap of my tent without hesitation. I immediately shoved the diary under my pillow and glared at him.
"What?" I snapped. "Ever heard of privacy? Or knocking? I don't know.. Boundaries?.."
Quintiel ignored the attitude.
Typical.
Instead, he scanned the tent, eyes sharp, almost suspicious, like he expected something to jump right out at him.
"You weren't at practice," he said, finally.
"No kidding," I muttered. "Maybe because a certain someone keeps dragging me into drama I didn't ask for."
"Why don't you tell me the 'real' reason you're here, Quintiel."
Wait. I wasn't supposed to call him that. The Osam Nirit he knows probably doesn't know his name.
His wings flickered, barely visible. "You vanished, Osam." Quintiel hovered around me, "Into thin air. Only high-ranked Osams are allowed to do that."
"Well, congratulations. I'm not one of them." I mumbled, pretending I wasn't scared. What he was capable of.. if he already has his suspicions.
If anything, I didn't want him around.
Quintiel stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"That's the problem."
I stiffened.
His tone.. changed. Again.
But this time, Not teasing, no smirking.. just a low seriousness that wove instant fear into me.
"Every Osam has a trace," he said. "A magical imprint." He sprinkled dust sparkles from his hand pinning down his point.
"But you.. you don't match any record. Not the Academy's. Not the other Realms'. Or the Royal Archives'."
I tried to laugh it off. "Wow. Rude. Last time I checked, I'm very much real."
But Quintiel didn't blink.
" Tell me what you are," he said quietly. "Because you're not from Whisper-Realm. And you're definitely not a Chibit."
" Which means.."
My throat dried up.
Maybe I can just tell him the truth, that I'm a writer, and this whole world came from my childhood imagination..
No. I shook my head instead.
He isn't to be trusted. At least not yet.
He took another step, expression unreadable.
"..Nirit… are you a—"
A loud horn blasted through the camp.
We both jolted.
Quintiel turned sharply and flew away without saying another word.
Phew. Saved by the bell. Or not.
Because by the time I got there, to the hearth of the Academy, all the other Osams were gathered there as well. Tense, waiting.
Their wings tucked and cloaks glowing faintly.
The Captain floated above us all, his expression grave.
" An intruder has crossed the Realm's boundary."
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Impossible."
"How could this happen?"
"No one should breach the veil."
"Is it LoudeRealm?!"
The Captain's eyes scanned the rows and stopped directly on me.
I swallowed hard.
"Osam," he barked.
Every head turned.
My pulse thudded painfully in my ears.
I stepped forward anyway. After all, I really was an intruder. If anyone, I was an easy suspect.
The Captain descended slowly. His hand held up something. Something that made my stomach flip.
A glowing blue feather.
My heart dropped to my feet.
"This was found at the boundary wall," he said firmly. "Your imprint is all over it."
The crowd erupted.
-"She breached the Realm?!"
-"She skipped training?!"
-"Is she a traitor?!"
Their eyes pressed onto me murderously.
I froze.
I had no idea how that feather even got there to begin with. Or how the Captain had found it.
I was being framed and wherever that object came from had to be the only explanation.
Looking back at the only person I knew here.. Quintiel. His expression looked different, somewhat darker than it was back in the tent.
An evil smirk.
"Osam…" he whispered like everyone else, "what have you done?"
Oh, what a good actor he was.
A rift tore open in the sky.
Sparks of red and golden lightning scattered across the clouds.
From the look on everyone's face that wasn't backup. It was something else. A planned follow-up chaos.
The Captain reacted instantly.
"TO ARMS!"
Fairies drew weapons, wings blazing.
Some were coming after me, the rest flew towards the rift.
A shape emerged from the darkness, molding itself like an amoebic phenomenon. It screeched like a Banshee which stopped everyone on their tracks.
A paralysis wave.
I knew my story plot like the colour of my skin and that thingwasn't part of it.
But then, before my mind could process anything,
Blue dust once again.
I started to disintegrate, the screeches of the creature faded by each moment and within seconds,
I was back on the toilet floor. Scattered books and empty backpack.
My watch beeped 2:30PM. Classes end in 45 minutes. After which is detention period.
Then it hit me.. I'd only been there for only 30 minutes.