18 - Revelation

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With your game face on, you tightened your grip on the pen. Black ink pooled from the nib onto the paper due to the sheer force you imposed on it.

"...You're going to ruin the page if you press any harder." Gael nonchalantly eyed your writing hand and felt a bit sorry for the worn book.

He understood your agitation, though. After all, outside of The 28th Stop, magic was a ludicrous concept that only existed as make-belief. An idea known to be believed primarily by children or the deftly naïve. So, an adult like yourself must have trouble grappling with this new knowledge that conflicted with your ingrained certainty that it did not exist.

"Ah- my bad." You loosened your hold on the utensil, then motioned for him to continue.

"Going back to the example of these roses." He poked the fallen petal which, once again, illuminated in the same otherworldly fashion as before. "These are called 'Rosa Lumen Lunae', roughly meaning 'Rose of the Moonlight'. They're grown in a garden that's on the border of the town, far away from here, where the moonlight that lands on Earth is most concentrated. This garden is enchanted with a spell that allows the roses to absorb the moonbeams. The roses then convert and store the energy from the moonbeams, so they end up emitting the same amount of light that their petal captured while it was growing in the soil. Does that make sense?"

You finished writing down the last sentence he spoke and slowly nodded.

Seeing your hesitant yet affirmatory response, he continued. "Anyway, the Glass Kingdom basically manages the source of this magic. Harvesting magical flowers is nothing compared to what it is truly capable of, considering that its biggest role is to physically run the town. Concurrently, it is also the reason why we have visitors coming here in the first place."

You stopped writing. The abrupt halt of the nib's dance left a small tear in the paper.

"Wait..." Your breath hitched. "Are...are you saying that..."

"Yes. The 'life-changing' experience that is so often talked about; this magic is responsible for it."

His smirk widened at your dumbfound expression. 'Good, I have her full attention. Now it shouldn't take too long to convince her to do it...'

"Long ago, a spell had been cast around this town that allows the negative energy of visitors to be extracted. This energy is then converted to electricity and other forms - the exact mechanism behind this is largely unknown, since the Glass Kingdom is quite secretive about it. But what I do know is that they have a warehouse, laboratory and a panel of experts on magic to regulate this system. Without outsiders, the town cannot thrive."

The pen fell from your hands and dropped onto the table with a dull thud. Your lips parted, yet no sound could escape.

'This...was exactly what I was looking for! Exactly what my article needed! It's...it's what I've spent all this time searching for.'

The giddy sensation in your chest faltered as you continued your rail of thought.

'...Although, a week seems ridiculously soon for a revelation such as this. Not just that, the way in which I attained the information was all too straightforward. I mean, I just had to ask?! A bit too convenient. Too easy. Something's not right...'

Upon observing the smile fall from your face, Gael clicked his tongue. Much to his chagrin, it had seemed that he raised your suspicions rather than increased your trust, as he had hoped. 'Did I make the reveal too early? But, according to the plan I had...Could I have miscalculated? Did I underestimate her?'

"What's wrong, Y/N?" Gael tilted his head to the side, feigning curiosity.

You opened your mouth but stopped yourself before your thoughts transmuted to audible words.

'Should I keep asking more questions or should I finally confront him about his true intentions? Although, he kept evading the answer for the latter concern whenever I brought it up. But what if he happened to be more willing now, considering there were no eavesdroppers around? No, that wouldn't make sense. Argh, I'm not smart enough to play these mind games! Before coming here, I should've re-read all the volumes of Death Note to bump up my I.Q. points...'

Unbeknownst to you, your face contorted in exasperation as it corresponded to your internal debate. Gael quietly coughed to stop himself from giggling. Unlike him, you wore your emotions on your sleeves and the intangible workings of your mind were visible through your countenance. He wondered whether you were even aware that you were making such adorable expressions.

You were so simple. So transparent. So beautifully down-to-earth.

Unlike him.

If only he was so uncomplicated, he pondered. If only he could express his emotions without restraint, without having to constantly think about the ramifications and without needing to predict other people's possible reactions all the time.

If only he could go about his day as he pleased, without the incessant worry in the back of his mind that he was probably being watched. Surveyed. Scrutinised. Laughed at.

If only he had the freedom to be who he wanted to be, rather than what his father moulded him to be. Rather than what this goddamn town moulded him to be.

Maybe then, he wouldn't hate himself so much.

"Gael."

Your voice snapped him out of his daze. "Yes?"

"What exactly do you want?" You decided to take a chance.

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

"Why did you involve me in your business? I mean, not just inviting me to your party, but being so desperate to have specifically me that you followed me around during the first day I came here." You drew a long breath. "In short, what am I to you? What do you want from me?"

Gael pursed his lips. "I'm not too sure what you're implying, Y/N."

You bent forwards, placing your weight on your forearms, and narrowed your eyes. "You want me to do something for you, right?"

'...Ah, she's clever.' Gael couldn't help but grin, amusement overpowering the vexation of being figured out.

The glint in his orbs was all you needed. Liberating a sigh, you leaned back in your chair and massaged your forehead. As soon as you opened your mouth to ask for his favour, he interjected.

"But first, I want to double-check something."

Gael reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a golden coin, its light infinite times brighter than the white roses. He placed the object on the table and gently slid it across the table towards you, where it glided along the smooth tablecloth until it halted an inch away from the edge. Sparing a glance at the item, you raised a brow.

"What, a donation? Hush money? No, thank you-"

"Touch it."

You blinked. "What?"

His lips were pulled into a thin line as he stared at you. The intensity of the gaze, sharpened by the azure glow in his irises, made you swallow any attempt to clarify his command. While you moved your hand to follow the instruction, the memory of the businessman's blood-curdling cries echoed in your mind. Both instances were caused by merely contacting the piece of metal for more than a few moments.

The very same piece of metal over which your palm hovered.

While it just so happened to not affect you the first time you touched the town's special coins, you hadn't tested your pain tolerance since then. What if that time was simply luck? What if now, once you obeyed his order, you would end up on your knees screaming too? Most of all, what if this was part of his grand scheme and he would take advantage of your resulting vulnerable state?

You instantly pulled your hand to your chest and vehemently shook your head.

The young man exhaled tiredly. "I'm just asking you to place your hand on it until you feel the slightest bit of pain. I'm not here to intentionally harm you, Y/N. Trust me."

'Trust you? That in itself is a lot you're asking from me, buddy.' You grumbled. However, seeing that the discourse wouldn't otherwise go anywhere, you chose to take a leap of faith.

Arm trembling, you reached towards it. Once the pad of your forefinger sensed the hard metal, it lingered for a few seconds before your hand recoiled.

"Oh..." Gael whispered, gaze lowered as he released a deep sigh. Outstretching his arm, he picked up the coin and wrapped his fingers around it tightly. "So, it seems I was wrong. I'm sorry I had you-"

"No." You gawked at the hand you used. "It didn't hurt. I was just scared."

He jerked his head up, hope flickered in his pupils. "R-Really? Would you mind if I asked you to try again?"

You folded your lips into a grimace, took a sharp breath, and nodded with a newfound resolve. Gael rotated his wrist and unfurled his long fingers to reveal the precious metal in his palm. Without hesitation, you touched it.

A few moments passed. Then thirty seconds. Then a full minute.

Deep ocean pools widened as Gael stared at your hand and the coin. You similarly gazed in awe, racking your brain for any registration of agonising pain. Yet there was none. Only the sensation of a cold, smooth and polished surface.

"Oh god." Retracting the coin back into his pocket, the boy gaped at you. "So, you do have cross-resistance..."

"Cross-what?"

"B-but how, though? You're a visitor!" He bit hard on his bottom lip. "That doesn't make a lick of sense."

"You're not making a lick of sense. What the hell is 'cross-resistance' and what's so bad about me having it?"

He sat in silence, gathering his thoughts, before he directed a stern gaze towards you. Gael spoke in a low voice, "No, It's not bad. Far from it actually, considering the countless experiments that have been done to gain the ability...most of which were highly unethical."

Your lips tightened into a thin line. "Ability? Mind explaining what it is, then?"

"Basically, with 'cross-resistance', you can hold objects made of the town's gold that belongs to anyone. Not just coins, but anything that's made of it." He held up his golden coin and slowly rotated it in one hand. "You would've known by now that whenever someone contacts someone else's piece of gold for more than a few seconds, their skin starts burning. While there is no visible manifestation of it, like scorch marks, there's no denying the excruciating pain."

Once again, you remembered the businessman cowering in agony on the train, when he picked up Gael's coin. Watching his reaction had rattled you with a second-hand twinge in your fingers. So, it made you all the more curious why the same had not directly happened to you earlier.

Gael continued, "One of the purposes of this is to prevent the stealing and unlawful distribution of this particular kind of gold which, with its unique properties, can't be found anywhere else in the world. Yes, there is the issue of whether the original owner illegally sells their own coins, and outsiders somehow managing to sneak those coins into their world, but those are problems that the Council hasn't developed effective solutions to yet." His eyes flitted to the window and he muttered something else, but you couldn't make out a word.

"Sorry, I didn't hear-"

"But that shouldn't be as important to you as what I'm about to say next." He turned his head both ways, despite you two being the only ones in the room, before lowering his speech to a delicate whisper. "The only people with cross-resistance are Gold Spinners, who excavate the gold from the town's mines, and..."

"And...?"

"...Royals."

The edge of your mouth twitched, forming an amused grin. "Wait, wait, wait. Pfft, are you saying that I'm some sort of a long-lost princess?!" A barrage of short yet loud laughs escaped your lips. "That's stupid and it's hella cliché."

"I never said that. It's impossible for you to be a Royal." He trailed his gaze up and down your form. To you, it seemed like he was inspecting the bodice of your sleeveless orange cotton dress. Without your coat and scarf, the tattered edge of the neckline and the loose pieces of string hanging off the armholes stood out like a thumb.

"Excuse me," you scoffed. "Are you trying to say some-"

"It's impossible because you're still alive and in one piece."

You furrowed your eyebrows and parted your lips to ask him to clarify, when he interposed.

"Where were you born?"

"I...East Villton. From there, it takes around four hours to drive to Waverley. Why do you-"

"You've stayed there for your entire life?"

"Yeah, but how is that relevant?"

"Well, anyone with the slightest hint of royal blood cannot stay outside the town borders for more than a year, otherwise they fall apart."

"'Fall apart'?"

He coughed. "By that, I mean...that their limbs rot, they bleed profusely and eventually their heads roll off their shoulders. Literally."

An involuntary shudder beset your body, yet you stilled your hand as you prepared to write notes. "How does that happen?"

"To put it simply, Royals cannot survive long without being surrounded by magic. Their cells rely on it for basic metabolic functions, like how we rely on ATP - if I remember what my senior year Biology teacher taught me."

In the midst of your furious scrawling, you mumbled, "Well, that sucks."

"It does. There was once a time when Royals considered releasing magic into the outside world and they trialled it. However, in that short time period, dire consequences came from it and - excuse my language - 'outsiders' started misusing it. They quickly retracted the magic, but the damage had already been done."

"Damage?" You looked up. "No, actually, let's go back to the point of all this. What does my 'cross-resistance' have anything to do with what you want from me?"

'Straight to the point, as always.' "Well, it has to do with the fact that-"

Just then, you heard muffled voices outside of the door. It sounded like they belonged to two women, who seemed to be bickering.

"Huh?" Gael stood up; his movements so sudden that the table shook. "There must be a mistake. No one other than our waiter is supposed to come here."

The doorknob rattled.

"Ah, good thing I- Wait, did I lock it?"

It twisted until a loud, dreadful click sounded.

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