《Wang Ki's Prophecy: The Elven Kingdom》


 Prologue: The Raid

    All around me is fire and the color red. What''s going on? Everyone is screaming and running for their lives as I¡¯m sat on my knees. Should I do that too? I want to run but my legs won''t work. As I try to get up, I fall back down. Once more I try and succeed, sprinting in the direction of my house. Where is everyone? I spot a child and his mom but they don''t look familiar. Do I know them? I can¡¯t even make out their faces. Why can¡¯t I see them even as I hurry closer?


    I stop in my tracks. Where is my mom? Is she at the house? How did I even get here? Never mind that. I have to find my mom!


    "Wang Ki!" That was her; where did it come from? I search frantically, turning in every direction, faces I¡¯m not able to make out passing me.


    "Eomma!" I shout back. My eyes dart back and forth until they land on her. There! I hurry towards her.


    "Run! Leave me! Get out of here!" She shouts as a man pushes her head down. How dare he touch her! A bulkier man unsheathes his sword and swings it high above his head. The other men converse between each other and look at me. What do they want?


    As I realize what the man with the sword is doing, I sprint towards them but I¡¯m suddenly halted by someone. I try to shake and shove the person off but the grasp is unrelenting.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "Stop! We have to go!" It''s Dae Sung.


    "But Eomma!" I plead.


    "What can you possibly do right now," the older spit. I look at him and see his bright amber eyes glaring into mine. "We''re just kids. We''re weak. We can''t fight. We should listen to her."


    As much as I don''t want to admit it, he''s right. My heart is racing so fast it feels like it''ll beat right out of my chest. My vision starts to become blurry as I look around. I can''t see, but I hear the slice of a sword and the tiniest whimper.


    Right after, a blood-curdling scream breaks through the sound of fire and mayhem. Was that me? I get dragged away in hopes that it''s by Dae Sung. Where are we going? The feeling of sheer panic overwhelms me as I hear the sound of heavy feet behind us. Are we being followed? What do they want? What''s going to happen to us? There''s so much fire everywhere. Everything is turning into ash around us.


    "Wang Ki. Wang Ki, wake up," that sounds like Dae Sung. "Wake up!"


    I jolt awake drenched in sweat, Dae Sung standing over me. I realize that I''m grabbing onto his arm tightly and let go.


    "Are you okay?" I nod. "Good. Get dressed. We gotta get going." Dae Sung starts to leave.


    "Wait, Hyung," I stop him. Dae Sung pauses and looks back at me. For some reason, I can''t think of the words I want to say to him, so I just shake my head. "It''s nothing," is what I end up with.


    Dae Sung just nods. "Okay. Hurry up and get dressed," he smiles as he exits my tent. I take a deep breath and get ready for the day.

 Chapter 1 - My Family

    My name is Wang Ki. I''m 14 years old, a little short for my age, and have ashy blonde hair that falls just above my eyes. From looking into rivers, I can tell that my eyes are purple. My body is very small as my hyungs say I''m scrawny.


    As I get ready for the day, I slide on a pair of black pants. It has a lot of rips in the legs from traveling and just natural wear. They fit my waist and legs well but are a bit short for pants. While the pants are a bit short, no one will be able to tell once I put on my boots. My tunic is off-white and freshly cleaned thanks to Min Su. I slip it on and slide a black bearskin vest on that seems a bit too small for me as well. Looking around the tent, I find something to comb my hair down with and head out to the others.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Min Su chuckles.


    Min Su is 16 years old and a bit taller than me. His bright blue eyes can barely be seen under his black hair. While we try not to get into too much trouble, Min Su has a throwing knife pouch on his thigh above his tan bottoms, just in case. His tunic is black that also has a gold symbol on it. I always wonder what it is every time I see it.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I reply.


    ¡°Don''t be hard on him. He had another one,¡± Dae Sung tells Min Su, hitting his arm slightly.


    Nightmares. That¡¯s what Dae Sung is referring to. While Dae Sung is the oldest out of us, Min Su is taller than him. Both of them are 16.


    Dae Sung has short red hair. But it¡¯s a bright red. The best way for me to describe it  is like the color of when the sun sets. Like a faded red-orange. He wears light brown boots over his black pants and a green fighting shirt. Since he¡¯s the oldest, he builds up his muscles and tries to look intimidating. His fighting shirt is strange to me though. The collar sticks up and it¡¯s held together by three clasps on the right side of his chest. Because of that, his stomach shows where the clasps stop. He also wears brown gloves for some reason. He says it¡¯s because he trains a lot and doesn¡¯t want to hurt his hands, but I think it¡¯s because he already shows a lot of skin.


    We pack up our things, throw them in our bags, and head out. It''s just another day traveling, hoping to maybe find a home. I doubt it though. It''s been four years since our home was raided and no one even bats an eye at three kids wandering around.


    The world is cruel and people don''t care what happens to those without families or high stature. It''s a sad fact that I learned at a young age. That¡¯s why the three of us stay with each other. We take care of and protect one another. Dae Sung and Min Su are my family, my brothers. Whether or not they¡¯re actually my brothers or not, I¡¯m not too sure of. We grew up together and I remember them from my childhood. If it wasn¡¯t for these two, I¡¯m not sure where I¡¯d be right now. Maybe dead?


    ¡°You¡¯re awfully quiet today, Wang Ki,¡± Dae Sung points out, looking at me.


    ¡°Um, just thinking is all,¡± I reply, nodding.


    Min Su turns around to face me, now walking backwards. ¡°You can always talk to us. We¡¯re here for you no matter what. We¡¯re family,¡± he smiles at me.


    I nod and smile, ¡°I know.¡± There¡¯s a rock behind him. ¡°Be careful,¡± I try to warn as he trips over the rock.


    Dae Sung laughs and I can¡¯t help but giggle as well. Min Su looks at Dae Sung and pouts. The older holds his hand out and helps Min Su up, as well as helping dust him off.


    ¡°Told you to be careful,¡± I remark playfully.


    Min Su laughs and pushes me slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t get smart with me. I¡¯m your hyung!¡± he remarks.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know,¡± I reply. ¡°You don¡¯t let me forget.¡± I laugh and smile, looking down at the ground as I walk. When I look back up, I notice the two of them talking to each other about something. I wanna know what they¡¯re talking about, so I hop over and poke my head in between them. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I look at them.


    They just laugh. ¡°Nothing,¡± Min Su is a bad liar.


    ¡°We noticed water over there and think it¡¯d be a good idea to get some drinking water,¡± Dae Sung is better at lying, so I can¡¯t tell.


    I look over in the direction he pointed and nod. ¡°Okay. Sounds good to me.¡±


    Dae Sung nods and leads us to the water. It turns out to be a slow-current river. I decide to get closer and look in the water. There¡¯s fish! ¡°Hyung! There''s fish in here!¡± I gasp excitedly and turn to them. Just as I turn, they push me! I stumble back and land in the water. ¡°Hyung! You made me scare the fish away!¡± I whine.


    They just start laughing! ¡°It¡¯s okay Wang Ki. Get out and they¡¯ll come back. We can try fishing, if that¡¯s what you were suggesting,¡± Dae Sung states.


    Min Su holds his hand out to me and I huff. No worries though, I have an idea. Since Min Su is so generously helping me, I grab his hand and pull hard, successfully dragging him in too. Yes! I quickly get up to try for our oldest now.


    He seemed to have sensed the danger because now he¡¯s running from me. Min Su decides to help and sprints after him, successfully grabbing his arm. I quickly grab the other one and we drag him into the river too. Now we¡¯re all soaked and playing in the river, splashing each other and laughing. Just having so much fun!


    Our playtime is sadly cut short as we¡¯re reminded of how hungry we are by the growling coming from our stomachs. We trudge out of the river and attempt to fish. I decide to lay down and just try to dry off while Min Su takes his turn.


    I can hear the splash as he throws his knives at the fish. While it helps to have the knives, Min Su doesn¡¯t exactly have the best aim. I hope he¡¯s able to get those back. After hearing another splash of his knives, I think it¡¯s time for me to intervene.


    ¡°Aim in front of the fish,¡± I advise, still laying down, putting my arms behind my head.


    Min Su looks at me and purses his lips in dissatisfaction. ¡°Do you wanna try, mister know-it-all?¡± he suggests, waving his knife around.


    I shrug. ¡°Why not?¡± I get up and dig in my bag for my slingshot.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°And what is that gonna do?¡± Min Su challenges.


    Instead of answering him, I just smirk and grab a rock. I load it up into the sling and pull it back, aiming at the fish, then releasing it. It hits! I look at Min Su and smirk. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I boast, "Now you grab the fish."


    While Min Su and I bicker, Dae Sung stabs the fish I hit and opens up his bag, taking out supplies. He sets the fish down on a cloth and gets ready to make a fire. ¡°Now get two more and we can eat,¡± he says, smiling at us.


    That stops us and suddenly it becomes a competition for the fish. Min Su seems to have taken my advice since he is finally able to get one. In no time, we both catch a fish and toss it to Dae Sung, who, without us noticing, got sticks ready, whittled, and the fire ready to be started. We sit on either side of him and help get the fire started, setting the fish up to be cooked.


    This is the part I hate the most. I don''t want to wait for my food to cook. I¡¯m already hungry. This is agony! Even though it is agony to wait, the fire is nice. I was a little cold from being in the river and hug myself slightly. Dae Sung puts his arm around me as if knowing that and rubs my arm. It does feel warmer next to him. Instinctively, I lean on him for more warmth and smile. The wait isn¡¯t so bad now. Dae Sung even starts running his hands through my hair, a gesture that he knows I love.


    I''m so comfortable leaning on Dae Sung that I close my eyes for what I thought was a few seconds, but once I open my eyes, the fish are finished cooking. Dae Sung hadn''t moved a muscle the whole time I was resting on his chest. How did he stay upright?


    I sit up and look at Dae Sung. "Sorry," I say.


    He just smiles and pets my head. "You''re alright. You were tired," he replies. "Now eat."


    Dae Sung hands me a fish and then grabs his own. We all eat silently. Then, once we''re done, we throw the sticks into the fire and watch them crackle and pop. One of the sticks pops louder than the rest and I flinch. Even though it¡¯s warm, chaos usually follows fire.


    Min Su seemed to have noticed and pats my leg. Instead of either of them saying anything, Dae Sung lays down and pulls me with him. We both just stare at the sky.


    "Can we stay here for the night?" I ask.


    Dae Sung chuckles. "No. It''s only midday."


    "How do you know?" I look at him.


    He points up at the sky, namely the sun. "Look at the sun, but not for too long. It''s at the highest point in the sky, therefore it''s only midday. Once it hits the tree line over there," he points in the distance, "Then we can start looking for a place to set up camp." Dae Sung finishes with a smile.


    I nod and sit up. "What direction should we go?" I ask him.


    "The smartest choice is probably to follow the river," Dae Sung answers. "If we''re lucky, maybe we can find a cave?"


    Min Su stands up. "We''d better get going then," he states.


    The oldest nods and stands up as well. "Let''s put out the fire," he suggests. "We don''t want it spreading."


    Min Su and I are on that. When Dae Sung looks over at us, he just sighs and shakes his head. It probably wasn''t what he had in mind, but hey, it relieves the fire as well.


    "That''s not the method I had in mind, but okay." he confirms. The oldest grabs a bucket and fills it half way with river water. Once we''re done and step back, he throws the water on the fire, successfully finishing our job. We all exchange looks and chuckle as we head out.


    As we follow alongside the river, I notice a line of rocks and jump up on them. I spread my arms out and attempt to keep balance as I walk across them.


    "Be careful up there," Dae Sung warns.


    "Don''t worry. I will," I comfort. Min Su looks over at me. He doesn''t seem convinced that I''ll be careful since he keeps a close watch on me.


    I definitely got this! I don''t even need to put my arms out anymore! I''m walking on these rocks no problem. I even start hopping from one rock to another. This is fun! There''s no reason for them to be worried. I could probably do tricks if I want to as well.


    I jump onto one of the rocks and it shakes under me. I spoke too soon. I gasp and lose my footing, but thankfully I fall toward the other two. Min Su grabs my arm as quickly as possible to steady me.


    I look at him and step away from the rocks. I don''t admit to anything though. I was fine. "Told you I''d be okay," I remark.


    Min Su was not happy about that comment. He hits the back of my head as if to scold me but I just laugh. I find it amusing.


    "I was just having a little fun," I say. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°What if you weren¡¯t fine though?¡± Min Su snaps back. ¡°You need to be more careful even if you¡¯re just having fun.¡± His tone gets softer as he continues scolding me.


    I nod and continue to walk behind the other two. As we walk, I look around at the scenery. The sun has moved a little past its high point and seems to give the surrounding area a yellow glow. The river moves faster and more violently as we travel in the opposite direction of its flow. It too seems to glow slightly yellow.


    ¡°Hey guys, when we set up camp, can I sleep in your tent?¡± I ask, looking up at them.


    They stop and turn to look at me. ¡°Of course you can,¡± the oldest speaks up. ¡°Is everything alright?¡±


    No, it¡¯s not. I don¡¯t want to have another nightmare. I hate reliving that day. Seeing the fire, feeling the fire, panic, anxiety, and hearing the screams and cries of agony for those who couldn¡¯t escape. Everything about it makes me frustrated. Anger for the men who slaughtered my friends and family. Angry that I have no home to go back to. Angry that I couldn¡¯t do anything. Angry that I was weak!


    The only thing in this Eirene forsaken world that gives me comfort is their presence. I trust my two hyungs with my whole being. Sighing, I shake my head and look at them. ¡°I just want to sleep next to you two,¡± I finally answer.


    I¡¯m not one to talk about my feelings, so I don¡¯t know if they know how I feel. Even so, I hope they do, even without me saying it. In all honesty, I don''t know if I could survive without them. They¡¯ve both done so much for me. Dae Sung was there with me, the night of the raid, when it all happened. He prevented me from doing something stupid. He saved me to say the least. Min Su is always there to pick me up when I get hurt and to make sure my clothes are clean. Both of them are special to me. They¡¯re my family and I love them.


    Alright, gross. That was sentimental. When I come back from my thoughts, both hyungs are walking backwards and staring at me.


    Dae Sung smiles. ¡°You got quiet,¡± he states.


    I nod. ¡°Yeah. I was thinking.¡± I can¡¯t look at them. Instead, I end up looking away from them and at the river. The current has gotten awfully strong.


    Suddenly, I hear a hard thud and very loud yowl. My head snaps back in the direction of the other two and I see Dae Sung knocked out on the ground. Blood is covering his face and left shoulder. ¡°Hyung!!¡± I shriek.


    Without skipping a beat, Min Su whips out his throwing knives and lands one in the side of what looks like a giant cat. It hisses and swipes at him. He swiftly jumps back and throws another one, but it misses.


    I quickly dig in my bag for my slingshot and pull it out, grabbing as many rocks as I can find. As fast as I can possibly go, I load up a rock and aim. I release it and the rock hits the cat square in the face. Yes!


    It yowls loudly again and swipes at Min Su once more, unfortunately slashing down his right arm. He screams in pain and drops to the ground, joining Dae Sung in the realm of sleep.


    ¡°Hyung!¡± I might as well be screaming bloody murder at this point. Tears stream down my face as I load up another rock. This stupid cat will pay! I don''t know how, but it will! I land another shot in its eye and one more on its side. Damn it! Why isn¡¯t it leaving?


    It lungs at me and I slam into the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I can¡¯t breathe! Its paw weighs heavily on my neck and chest. I can feel it digging into my skin as it growls and drags its claw down my neck and chest. I scream out in agony and pure terror, closing my eyes tight. I gasp for air and pry open my eyes just in time to see an arrow land in the cat¡¯s eye. I look down at my chest in utter shock. There¡¯s so much blood. Is it all mine? Am I going to die? I can¡¯t see. Everything is going dark. Something even heavier lands on my chest but I can¡¯t feel it.


    Ah. I see.


    This must be death¡­.

 Chapter 2 - The Ironic Savior

    I can feel my heart beating in my heavy chest. I¡¯m not dead at least. As I feel myself slowly coming to, I¡¯m suddenly reminded of what happened: the big cat, my hyungs¡­ and the arrow! Did someone kidnap us?


    I gasp and pry my eyes open. Looking around, all I see is rock. Am I in a cave? Where are my hyungs? This is all just another nightmare, isn¡¯t it? Dae Sung was covered in blood. Min Su got slashed. There¡¯s no way this is real!


    Looking to my right, I spot Dae Sung. His head is wrapped and shoulder patched up. He looks so peaceful that I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s breathing. Who wrapped him up?


    On my other side is Min Su. The right sleeve of his tunic is ripped off and his arm is completely bandaged up. What is going on?


    If I can get up, maybe I can wake up. Maybe we can run. I look around the cave and it doesn¡¯t look like anyone is here. We could make a break for it. Shifting my weight to my right side, I shakily attempt to sit myself up. I wince from the pain in my chest. This is all too real.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get up,¡± a female voice brings me to reality. This is real. ¡°Sleep.¡±


    If I had the energy to, I would probably protest. However, I don''t. Once I lay back down, I immediately fall back asleep.


    As I awake for the second time, I¡¯m greeted by the smell of something savory. Possibly meat? I can hear it sizzle against the metal that it must be cooking on. My stomach growls to remind me of my hunger. I want to eat it now. However, I still don''t have the energy to get up and I end up falling asleep once more.


    For the third and final time, I wake up. This time, I open my eyes and manage to prop myself up on my elbows.


    As I look around, I notice the meat that was cooking earlier is now on trays in front of us. Two of which look as though the meat has just been thrown on and sat down. The other being chopped into fine cubes for ease of eating probably.


    Behind the food looks to be a ball of fur. From what though? It looks like the same color as the big cat we fought. I don¡¯t get the chance to dwell on it too much as the other two start to awaken.


    ¡°Eat.¡± It¡¯s the female voice again.


    Looking up, I search the room to try and find her. It¡¯s dark in the cave so I can¡¯t see much. I notice a dark hooded figure towards the back. She doesn''t seem to be facing towards us but I spot one bright pink eye watching us. Her head must be turned slightly.


    The older two have already sat up and faced their trays. I struggle to sit up from the pain in my chest so Dae Sung lends a hand.


    Before we can grab a tray, she speaks again. ¡°The cubes are for the black-haired boy. His arm was severely damaged by the lion. He won''t be able to use his arm properly for a while.¡± the lady states.


    Min Su grabs the tray with his good hand and reaches for the diner ware with his other. To no avail though. His arm is trembling and he can¡¯t seem to hold the utensil properly.


    Dae Sung puts his plate down and goes over to Min Su, deciding to help. The younger tries to refuse but Dae Sung is having none of it. He ends up holding Min Su¡¯s damaged hand with one hand and feeding him with the other. Once the three of us finish eating, we push the trays away and just sit there, not for sure what to do.


    The lady walks over to the ball of fur on the ground and picks it up. She heads towards us and tosses it at our feet. ¡°That¡¯s all of your stuff. Now leave,¡± she says and heads outside.


    We¡¯re all struck with confusion as we stare at the ball. Dae Sung is the one who decides to open it. It unravels to reveal that it is in fact the cat we fought. Just like the lady had said, all of our supplies are in here too.


    I dig through it and find my slingshot, stuffing it in my bag. Min Su grabs his throwing knives with his left hand and stares at them. With his right hand, he takes one and attempts to hold it. Even though he can hold it, his hand is shaky and there¡¯s little strength behind it. Because of this, it ultimately slips out of his grasp and clanks onto the floor. By the look on his face, I can tell that he is clearly dispirited by it.


    Slowly standing up, I sling my bag over my shoulder and head outside to where the lady went. I find her standing by the entrance of the cave, watching the sun rise. In the sunlight, I can see how long her cloak is. It covers her full body and lets her boots barely stick out. What am I doing?


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask without thinking.


    She doesn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Why did you save us?¡± I press.


    Without turning to me, she answers this time. ¡°Because small children shouldn¡¯t be playing with cats that big.¡±


    ¡°How did you kill it? Can you teach me?¡± I ask.


    ¡°No.¡± she answers without hesitation.


    I huff, ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not babysitting a bunch of kids,¡± she turns to me. Even though her hood is still up, the sunlight allows me to see her face. I can clearly see both of her eyes this time. They seem to almost glow pink. Her mouth and nose are covered with a mask and she¡¯s got one scar on the left side of her face. It starts at her cheekbone and continues into her mask. I wonder how big the scar actually is. ¡°Go back to where you came from.¡±


    I snort. ¡°If it was that easy, I would have already done that. Our home was destroyed years ago in a raid. We¡¯ve been on our own since.¡± Why did I tell her that? She stays quiet for a while. I look up at her and we make eye contact. Breaking it, she searches my face and looks me up and down.


    ¡°You look very young to be on your own. How old are you?¡± she asks.


    Should I tell her? Also, why shouldn¡¯t I? She did save us. ¡°Um, I¡¯m 14,¡± I tell her. ¡°But, I¡¯m also not alone. I have my hyungs. The two in there.¡± I point to the cave. Before she can say anything, I continue. ¡°If you teach us how to fight, we could take care of ourselves no problem! No babysitting necessary. Just teach us the basics and we¡¯ll be on our way!¡±


    ¡°Why do you trust me?¡± she challenges. ¡°Who¡¯s to say that I won''t just turn around and kill you?¡± She turns away from me. ¡°You¡¯re a naive boy.¡±


    ¡°You saved us,¡± I remind her.


    Before I can say anymore, Dae Sung interrupts our conversation. ¡°What are you doing? We don''t know if we can even trust her!¡±


    ¡°You must be the oldest of you three,¡± the lady guesses.


    Dae Sung stays quiet, unsure of how to respond. ¡°Come back inside,¡± he says to me. Then, he grabs my arm and pulls me back into the cave. ¡°What in Hera¡¯s name were you thinking?¡±


    I rip my arm away from him. ¡°That this may be our only chance to learn how to fight!¡± I bark back.


    ¡°We don''t know her!¡± Dae Sung protests.


    ¡°We don''t know anyone! Hyung, she saved us! No one in our four years of traveling has anyone ever showed us any sign of kindness! None! Yet, here she is, a random stranger, who not only saves us but also bandages us up and takes care of our wounds! And you¡¯re still telling me that we can¡¯t trust her?¡± I argue.


    Dae Sung doesn¡¯t look at me. He¡¯s clearly trying to think of something to come back with.


    It¡¯s Min Su who speaks up this time. ¡°He¡¯s right though¡­¡± This is the first time he looks up from his hands.


    ¡°Don''t encourage him!¡± Dae Sung scolds.


    ¡°When will we ever get this chance again?¡± the younger challenges.


    Dae Sung stays quiet for a second. ¡°Who¡¯s to say she¡¯ll actually teach us?¡± he finally speaks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡± I turn to see the lady leaning on the wall behind us. How long has she been there?


    ¡°Really?¡± I ask excitedly.


    She nods. ¡°Yes. But first, you need to heal,¡± she states.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Dae Sung asks. ¡°If we¡¯re to trust you, we need something. A name, job, age. Something.¡±


    I nod because I¡¯m also curious. Min Su looks at her as well.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she says. ¡°But you have to do the same.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I answer for everyone. Dae Sung hits my arm for it.


    ¡°I¡¯m 20 years old,¡± she starts, ¡°My job is that I¡¯m an assassin. That¡¯s why I¡¯m so good at fighting. I have to be.¡± She pauses. ¡°As for a name? You can just call me Pixie.¡± She smirks slightly. ¡°Now your turn.¡±


    Dae Sung speaks first. ¡°My name is Dae Sung. I¡¯m 16 years old and we just travel,¡± he states.


    Pixie nods and Min Su takes his turn. ¡°My name is Min Su. I¡¯m 16 as well, but younger than Dae Sung,¡± he nods.


    ¡°I¡¯m Wang Ki,¡± I look at her. ¡°And as you know, I¡¯m only 14.¡±


    She nods. ¡°There¡¯s a market town not too far from here. We can get you new clothes there since yours got ripped by the lion.¡±


    ¡°Why are you helping us?¡± I knew Dae Sung would ask that eventually.


    Pixie stares at him before speaking. ¡°Because even as an assassin, I have morals. You kids will die if I don''t help you.¡± From the look on his face, I could tell Dae Sung was surprised to hear that. ¡°Now gather your things. We¡¯re heading out,¡± she says.


    We nod and do as we¡¯re told, following her out of the cave. She walks with purpose. I look up and notice that it¡¯s almost midday by the time we actually leave. The day has barely started but so much has already happened.


    ¡°How far away is the town?¡± I ask.


    ¡°By the time night falls, if there have been no complications, we should be close by. If we head out at sunrise, we can make it there by midday,¡± Pixie nods.


    How does she know that? That¡¯s so cool. What else does this strange lady know? Either way, she definitely seems to know where she¡¯s going since she doesn¡¯t slow even after Min Su hurries to walk next to her. He just watches her, mouth moving some, trying to think of what to say.


    ¡°Uh, what will you teach us once we¡¯re healed?¡± he finally asks.


    ¡°Well, the first thing we¡¯ll do is assess what fighting knowledge you possess,¡± Pixie answers.


    ¡°Nothing. We know literally nothing,¡± Dae Sung states sourly.


    Pixie glances back at him before continuing. ¡°Alright. That makes things easier. I will still assess your knowledge. After that, I will test your skills and see which areas you have the most proficiency in.¡±


    Wait, pro- what? ¡°What does profishy mean?¡± I ask.


    I guess she found that amusing as she chuckles. ¡°Proficiency. It means to do well at. To be good at something. Once we know that, we can choose your fighting style.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Min Su nods. He hasn''t looked away from her this whole time. Is he just really interested in what she has to say? ¡°What sort of fighting styles are there?¡± he wonders.


    ¡°There are many,¡± the lady answers. ¡°All are special in their own ways and can contribute to the party if used properly. None are more important than others. For instance, if a party consists of only fighters, who will heal them after a fight? No one ever wants to be a healer, but they¡¯re extremely important.¡±


    Dae Sung jumps in. ¡°What do you mean by a healer? Just someone who brings us aid?¡±


    For the first time, Pixie seems at a loss for words. She stops and turns to us. Her stare stays longer on Min Su for some reason before getting to us. ¡°Well, they can be. But usually, a healer holds higher healing capabilities than would a normal human being,¡± she states.


    I look at both of them to see if they understand what she said. Min Su isn¡¯t looking at anyone as he thinks and then nods as if understanding. Dae Sung looks about as lost as I am on that subject. What more does Min Su know than us?


    Not giving us much time to think, the lady pats Min Su¡¯s back and continues walking. ¡°Hurry along. We need to get going.¡±


    As we walk, I notice that we start getting closer to the forest ahead. The river that Dae Sung had us following before still seems a safe distance close in case we need it. I guess he was right about that at least. The rocks from the riverside get smaller as we get closer to the forest. From the looks of it, they want to be hidden in the forest too.


    By the time we reach the forest, the day looks three-quarters of the way done. Were trees always this big? As we walk in, they just swallow us up. Each tree is spaced out enough for two people to walk in between them, but as we get further in, the spaces narrow out. The grass and shrub get thicker and so do the trees. I can tell that the sun is still out from the light poking through the leaves, but the tops of the trees are blocking most of it from coming in.


    I look around at the shrubs and notice little flowers scattered about. They¡¯re very colorful. As we keep walking, I notice that they¡¯re not just on the bushes, but also on the forest floor. What are all the colors? I see purple, and red, oh that one¡¯s yellow, and this one is blue! There¡¯s so many different colors. Why have I never seen these before? They¡¯re so pretty.


    Smiling, I tug on Dae Sung¡¯s arm and point at a purple flower. ¡°Look at them. Aren¡¯t they pretty?¡± I whisper.


    The older smiles and nods. ¡°Yeah. they are.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch them though,¡± Pixie warns. ¡°They¡¯re pretty so that they can draw you in. Those flowers are highly poisonous.¡±


    I nod but Dae Sung doesn¡¯t seem happy about it. ¡°They¡¯re just flowers hyung. It¡¯s okay.¡±


    He shakes his head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. It doesn¡¯t matter though,¡± Dae Sung dismisses the conversation.


    Min Su looks back at Dae Sung, also noticing the attitude change. The younger hangs back to walk next to our hyung and I leap forward to walk next to Pixie.


    ¡°You sure do know a lot,¡± I point out. She just nods.


    I hear Dae Sung call from behind, ¡°She doesn¡¯t know everything though.¡±


    Taken a bit aback, I look at him. ¡°Hyung, are you okay?¡±


    He huffs and looks away from me. I watch as he stares at Min Su as if asking for comfort. Somehow, the younger understands and rubs his back.


    I look at Pixie and she nods at me. Is there a reason behind why she didn¡¯t say anything back? Instead of dwelling on it, maybe I can ask tonight when we set up camp.


    ¡°How far away are we?¡± I wonder.


    ¡°About where we need to be. We can go until the sun sets more or rest just over there if you boys would like,¡± Pixie answers, pointing in the distance ahead.


    Instinctively, both Min Su and I turn to our hyung for the answer. I notice the smallest hint of a smile on Dae Sung¡¯s face when we look at him. Maybe he doesn¡¯t like that we¡¯re following Pixie?


    ¡°We can set up camp ahead,¡± Dae Sung answers with a nod.


    Pixie just nods and we continue walking. Once we arrive at the designated spot, we throw our bags onto the ground and dig through them. The lady just stands there and watches us. Doesn¡¯t she have a tent to set up too? Does she even have a bag on her?


    ¡°Where will you sleep tonight?¡± I ask.


    She turns slightly and points up a tree. ¡°There,¡± she replies.


    In a tree? ¡°You don''t have a tent?¡± I wonder.


    Pixie shakes her head. ¡°I carry the bare minimum on me for ease of movement,¡± she states. ¡°Everything I carry is either a weapon or something I may need after battle.¡±


    ¡°Oh. well, you can stay in my tent? I¡¯m gonna stay with them tonight,¡± I gesture to the other two.


    Dae Sung looks like he¡¯s about to protest, but Pixie speaks before he can. ¡°No. Thank you, but I don''t need it.¡±


    I shrug and continue to set up camp. When we¡¯ve finished, I notice that someone with long, midnight purple hair is sitting on a log in front of us. Is that Pixie? Curious, I hurry over to see. It is! Her hood is down and her mask is lowered to around her neck. I find the scar that I saw earlier today and follow it down her face with my eyes. It starts at her cheekbone, travels into the dip of her cheek, and continues down, stopping at her jawline, forming a stretched out ¡®S¡¯ shape.


    I must have been studying her face for too long because she speaks up. ¡°Instead of staring, why don''t we get the fire started?¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I nod in reply. We light the fire and sit down to enjoy the warmth.


    ¡°When your friends are finished setting up, I¡¯ll tend to your wounds and rebandage them. It¡¯s always important to keep them clean,¡± she says.


    I nod and look down at my chest. ¡°Okay,¡± I respond.


    ¡°Your friend¡¯s pride is hurt,¡± Pixie states. ¡°His remark from earlier hints to that.¡±


    I look at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask.


    She chuckles. ¡°He could be upset for any number of reasons. One being his defeat from the lion. Another being from the fact that you look to me for help. He feels insecure in his knowledge and ability to protect you now.¡±


    That makes sense. He really didn¡¯t want us to go with her. ¡°I think he¡¯ll be okay later though,¡± I try to reassure. ¡°How did you get your scar?¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself.


    Pixie sighs and looks up at the trees. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like telling you that. But I will tell you that I got it when I was a bit younger than you. No, I had actually just turned 14,¡± she tells, looking at me.


    I realize how personal that was but I¡¯m really curious. She¡¯s very mysterious. Before I have time to ask anything else though, Min Su comes out with Dae Sung. The older is holding something wrapped in a cloth and sets it down.


    ¡°We have raw meat left over from this morning. Let¡¯s cook it,¡± Dae Sung suggests. No one objects to that. We get the meat set up and it starts cooking. During that time, Pixie gets up and goes off to do something. She comes back just in time for the food to finish cooking and we all eat.


    ¡°Once you have all finished eating, go to your tent and I will tend to your wounds,¡± Pixie says. Dae Sung is the first one to finish. Without saying a word, he gets up, puts his stuff away, and heads to his tent. Once everyone has finished, Pixie stands up, takes off her cloak, and hands it to me. She then heads into the tent. I look at the cloak and examine it. It¡¯s really long and very soft. Then I put it on, keep the hood down, and go in the tent as well. The cloak completely covers me past my feet.


    Dae Sung is sitting on the ground cross-legged with Pixie sat in front of him. She has bowls of weird-looking liquids next to her. Her whole outfit is completely black and skin tight. I notice that her boots look as though they¡¯re reinforced with steel on the toe.


    Earlier when she had said that all she carries is weapons, she wasn''t kidding. On both thighs, there are dagger holsters. Closer to her ankle on the right side is another dagger holster. On her back is a quiver full of arrows and possibly a sword? I can¡¯t tell. Just above her waist in the back are two pouches. I wonder what each one holds. The shirt she wears is plain black with no sleeves. The neck of it looks like what was her mask from earlier.


    Both of them sit in silence as she unwraps his forehead and checks on his wounds. After she¡¯s done looking it over, she picks up one of her bowls and puts the liquid from inside it on his head. Dae Sung hisses in pain, face scrunched up, but stays completely still. Once she¡¯s done with that bowl, she sets it down and grabs another one, applying it as well. He doesn¡¯t react this time.


    Dae Sung finally speaks after a long silence, "Just because you''re doing this for us, doesn''t mean I trust you.¡±


    "Smart boy,¡± Pixie replies.


    "Don''t patronize me," Dae Sung snaps.


    Pixie chuckles and sets the bowl down. As she grabs the new bandages, she speaks. ¡°It¡¯s a compliment. I can tell that all you want is to take care of your dongsaengs. It can be hard by yourself though,¡± her tone is calm as she wraps his head back up. ¡°You¡¯re all done.¡±


    Dae Sung gets up and leaves without saying anything. As he passes by me, I grab his arm. He stops and looks at me. Silently, I smile at him and hug him.


    ¡°Thank you for taking care of us for all these years,¡± I whisper.


    The older hugs back tightly but doesn¡¯t reply. He pulls away from the hug and pats my back, leaving the tent.


    I watch him go, then look back over to see Min Su sat in front of Pixie. She starts unraveling his bandages and I watch closely. Even from just his hand, I can tell that the damage is bad. Even though she¡¯s unwrapping as slow as she can, Min Su¡¯s skin sticks to the bandages, opening the wounds back up. I almost don''t want to watch. There¡¯s so much blood. Hyung is staring as more of his arm gets revealed, not saying a word.


    Pixie doesn¡¯t fully unwrap his arm before picking up a different bowl from earlier and setting some sort of leaves on the wounds. ¡°This will help stop the bleeding for now,¡± she states.


    Min Su nods. ¡°Is there anything to make it heal faster?¡± he asks worriedly, looking at her.


    Pixie pauses and returns his gaze with what seems like a look of sorrow before shaking her head. ¡°Nothing that I can do as of right now,¡± she answers sadly. As if remembering something, she looks at him again. ¡°But there might be something,¡± she adds while smiling.


    Hyung smiles and I can see the glimmer of hope in his eyes. He nods and lets her continue. Min Su¡¯s arm takes a long time to unwrap, but once it¡¯s uncovered, the process goes smoother for both of them. The leaves that Pixie had placed on his wounds are now being taken off and set aside on a cloth.


    Those cuts are deep. They¡¯re the deepest at his shoulder where the lion struck first. Four claw marks start there and go down his arm. By the time it¡¯s reached the second half of his arm, the marks decrease to two. The two marks go down his forearm then sharply wraps to the back of his wrist. After that, it decreases again to one cut that goes down the middle of his hand, right in between the first three and last two fingers.


    I wasn¡¯t paying enough attention to see what Pixie put on his arms but she is already wrapping his arm back up. Once she finishes wrapping his arm up, she grabs his hand gently in between her two. She bows her head and stays holding onto his hand. Is she praying? Pixie does this several more times, working her way up his arm. As she goes up his arm, she stays at each spot a bit longer than the one before it. By the time she reaches his shoulder, it feels like it¡¯s been forever. Finally, she¡¯s done and now it¡¯s my turn.


    Min Su gets up and bows to thank her, then exits the tent. I head over and sit down in front of her. She¡¯s moving the bowls around and then looks at me. Surprised that I¡¯m still wearing her cloak, she laughs. I smile. I made her laugh.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to take that off. I have to get to your chest and neck,¡± she¡¯s still smiling as she says that.


    I undo the clasp that holds it together and dramatically throw it off my shoulder then giggle slightly.


    Pixie also giggles at the sight of it. ¡°Will you take your tunic off that way too?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Well I wasn''t planning on that, but I will now,¡± I reply. I lift my tunic off over my head and toss it across the tent. She smiles again.


    As she starts to remove the bandages from my chest, she stays quiet but I can still see her smiling. Just like with Min Su, some of my skin comes with them and I start to bleed. It¡¯s not as bad as his was though. Once the wraps are all gone, I look down at my chest. I¡¯ve got five huge claw marks down the center of my chest!


    ¡°Don¡¯t move your neck,¡± Pixie commands, lifting my chin up. She places something cold on my neck. ¡°If you move too fast or look down too far, the scratches on your neck will reopen. Thankfully, they aren''t deep. You need to be careful though.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I reply since I can¡¯t nod.


    The cold stuff she put on my neck slowly gets placed all over my chest. For an assassin, she seems nice. At the beginning, she was very reserved and not wanting to talk to us. She¡¯s still very mysterious to me, but even if Dae Sung thinks we shouldn¡¯t, I trust her. So far, she hasn¡¯t given me a reason not to trust her. All she¡¯s done is take care of us.


    ¡°Can I, can I call you noona?¡± I stutter.


    Pixie stops what she¡¯s doing and looks at me. ¡°Noona is meant for an older, close female companion. If you feel as though we are close enough, you may,¡± she responds.


    I can¡¯t help but smile. This is so cool. She finishes wrapping my chest and neck back up and starts to clean up her bowls. ¡°What are those?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Medicinal herbs. They¡¯re used to tend to wounds and to help healing,¡± she replies.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nod and get up. Going over to the other side of the tent, I grab my tunic and put it back on. I then turn to Pixie. ¡°Uh, thank you,¡± I say before leaving the tent and joining my hyungs in the other one.


    Dae Sung and Min Su look like they just finished talking about something. They both look at me and nod. The younger leaves the tent after a few seconds.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Dae Sung asks smiling.


    ¡°Pretty good actually,¡± I reply, sitting next to him. ¡°My chest is cold from the medicine but I feel good.¡± I smile at him.


    The older just nods and pets me. He pulls me to sit closer to him and I do. I push him to lay down and then lay on his chest. He wraps his arms around me. One hand rubs my back and the other plays with my hair. I could definitely sleep like this. I close my eyes and end up almost falling asleep but I¡¯m stopped by the sudden urge to pee. I sit back up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back, hyung,¡± I say as I get up. As I leave the tent, I see Pixie and Min Su sitting next to each other talking.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back! I gotta take a leak!¡± I yell to them as I hurry off.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t need to know that!¡± Pixie shouts back.


    Hearing that, I laugh. I quickly hide behind a tree to do my business. Now that that¡¯s over, I just walk back. On my way back, I try to stay really quiet. I want to know what Min Su and Pixie are talking about. Once I get close enough to hear them, I slow down and try to stay hidden in the trees.


    ¡°I know what you are,¡± I overhear Pixie say to Min Su.


    ¡°How?¡± he asks.


    ¡°I can sense it. We¡¯re similar. Plus I saw the emblem on your tunic,¡± she answers. ¡°I recognize it from a long time ago.¡±


    She knows what that gold thing is on his tunic? What does she mean they¡¯re similar? I have so many questions now. While I wasn''t paying attention to where I was walking, I accidentally step on a stick. Dang it. I come out from the trees since they can see me now.


    ¡°Feel better?¡± Pixie chuckles.


    I nod. ¡°Yeah. When I was there-¡± I start.


    ¡°I don''t wanna know about your garderobe break!¡± she interrupts.


    Laughing, I head back into the tent and lay down on Dae Sung again. Shortly after, Min Su joins us. With Dae Sung in the middle and both of us on either side, we all snuggle into each other and drift to sleep for the night.


    When I awake the next day, I''m snuggling into Dae Sung''s side. His arm is around me as if he fell asleep rubbing my back. Min Su had rolled over in his sleep and is now sleeping on his stomach. Trying not to wake the other two, I slowly untangle myself from Dae Sung and get up. When I step outside the tent, I look up and see that Pixie had actually slept in a tree. What a sight. How did she stay in the tree? Or even get up there? It''s so high up.


    I notice that her hood is back up and covering half of her face. She''s perfectly sat in the crook of the tree, one leg outstretched, the other closer to her body.


    Looking up, I see that the sun is starting to rise. Guess we should all get ready now.

 Chapter 3 - The Market

    When Pixie awakes, she ever so gracefully jumps down from the tree and helps us clean up camp. No one really talks while doing so and once we¡¯re done, we head out. With our bags on our backs, we follow Pixie towards the town.


    ¡°What kind of things will they sell at the market?¡± I ask.


    ¡°There will be all kinds of things. However, we are not there to look around. We are to grab what we need and that is all,¡± Pixie answers.


    ¡°What exactly do we need?¡± I look at her.


    ¡°Clothes, medicinal herbs, and traveling supplies,¡± she replies.


    We all nod in agreement. ¡°But after the market, where will we go?¡± I wonder.


    Pixie takes a deep breath and nods. ¡°Ideally, we should try and go to a secluded area not too close to the town for you boys to heal. Once that has happened, we can start your training.¡±


    I smile at the thought of training. It sounds so cool. Soon I¡¯ll be able to defend myself! From the looks of it, I think I¡¯ll heal before the other two and hopefully get to start earlier. Pixie saved me before I got too cut up. Thinking back to the lion, I instinctively put my hand to my chest and rub it. As I look around, I notice that the trees start to thin out. Are we getting close to the village? It seems like we¡¯re nearing the end of the forest but I could be wrong.


    By the time we get to the edge of the treeline, it¡¯s midday. Are we already there? ¡°Just past this clearing is the market,¡± Pixie confirms. ¡°Try to stay close to each other.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I say. I¡¯m definitely going to explore. There is no way that I¡¯m going to this place and just standing around. Let¡¯s see what I can find. Min Su looks at me as if sensing my disobedience and I giggle. ¡°What?¡± I ask.


    He just shakes his head. ¡°Just try to stay out of trouble,¡± Min Su says.


    ¡°I will,¡± I ease. We walk a little bit further and I think I can see the edge of the village. It¡¯s so close! I hop forward in excitement. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I declare as take off in a short sprint.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Dae Sung shouts to me and quickly follows behind.


    I slow down so that Dae Sung can catch up and smile at him. ¡°I¡¯m just excited.¡±


    Pixie and Min Su catch up quicker than I thought they would. As she takes the lead again, Pixie ruffles my hair and pushes me to walk behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t get lost Blondy,¡± she says to me. We come up on the edge of the market and I look around. There is so much stuff here. Pixie was not kidding.


    I stop at one of the stalls and look at everything they¡¯re selling. They¡¯ve got some fish, fruits varying in shades of red and yellow, oh, and some clothes. I go over to the clothes and start looking at the tunics and pants.


    ¡°Grab the one you want,¡± Pixie says to me.


    I nod and just grab a dark green tunic and show it to her. ¡°Is this okay?¡± I ask.


    ¡°It looks a little big, don¡¯t you think?¡± she points out. ¡°But you¡¯re still growing, so you¡¯ll fit it eventually.¡± Nodding, she takes it and lays it over her arm.


    I look around at everything and everyone. This is so different than what I¡¯m used to seeing. Some of the people walking around are in colorful clothes and have pointed ears. Others are very short. Some aren¡¯t just short, but tiny! They have little wings and are flying around!


    Turning to look at Pixie, I ask, ¡°What are they? The pointy-eared people. And the short ones, and the little people that fly around?¡±


    She chuckles at my questions. ¡°The pointed eared people are elves. The ones in more colorful clothing are high elves. It means they¡¯re more important. The small people are dwarves. And the people flying around are fae. In that small group of five, one is a faerie and the rest are pixies.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Hey, pixie is your name,¡± I point out and smile.


    She just nods. I spot one of the dwarves that Pixie was talking about and go over to him. He¡¯s really short so I bend down to talk to him and wave.


    ¡°Hello! You¡¯re very short. Will you grow more? Are you a kid?¡± I say.


    The dwarf looks at me and sort of snarls. Instead of answering me, he walks over slowly and kicks my shin! ¡°No! I¡¯m not a child! For your information, I am over 100 years old and as tall as I¡¯ll ever be!¡± He huffs and walks off.


    Pixie laughs as I rub my shin. ¡°That was mean,¡± I pout.


    ¡°No, what was mean was you pointing out his height. Dwarves don''t like that,¡± she states.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that!¡± I whine.


    ¡°Well now you do,¡± she smiles.


    While the older two look at other clothes with Pixie, I separate from them and take a look around. There are so many stalls! I head over to one and check out the little trinkets that are being sold. I spot one of the pixies from earlier fly over and pick up a ring. He looks at it for a few seconds before holding it close and flying off. Did he just steal that? No one even noticed.


    While the trinkets are cool, I¡¯m not too interested in them. I walk off to see what else there is in this town and spot a girl. She¡¯s very pretty and looks about my age. She has long black hair that goes past her shoulders and black eyes. I can¡¯t help it, but I¡¯m drawn to her and end up walking over to her.


    ¡°Uh, hi,¡± I mutter awkwardly.


    She looks at me and smiles. ¡°Hi. You look like you¡¯re not from around here,¡± she states.


    I nod. ¡°Yeah. wow, I didn¡¯t I think stuck out too much. Okay,¡± I definitely sound stupid right now.


    "Your clothes are different from the others around here. They¡¯re also tore up. You also look at everything in awe. That''s how I know," she says.


    "Oh," I nod. "I''m getting new clothes today."


    ¡°That will definitely help," she agrees. "It looks like you got in a fight and survived,¡± the dark-haired girl says, poking at my chest.


    ¡°Yeah. I fought a big cat. A lion I think?¡± my voice cracks on the word ¡®lion¡¯ and I place my hand around my neck. That was embarrassing. ¡°Sorry,¡± I say.


    The girl just giggles and watches me. ¡°You¡¯re cute. Innocent,¡± she smiles. ¡°Are you alone?¡±


    I look around and then back to her. ¡°I mean, I came with other people,¡± I reply.


    She quickly grabs my arm and pulls me further away from the crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s talk away from everyone else then.¡± I look at her and we make eye contact. While keeping our gazes, I feel her wrap her arms around one of mine. This is different.


    ¡°What do you wanna talk about?¡± I ask.


    She steps closer to me and whispers in my ear, ¡°Just how nice you smell. I can smell your blood. It kind of makes me want to taste it.¡±


    What?! This girl is weird. I try to back away from her and get my arm back but I can¡¯t seem to move.


    She giggles darkly. ¡°Foolish child. You can¡¯t run from me.¡± I notice her eyes flash red for a split second. ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize a vampire when you see one?¡±


    A vampire? No! I¡¯ve never seen a vampire before! I¡¯m only 14!


    ¡°You¡¯re only 14? How lucky I am to have found you then.¡± Did she just read my mind? ¡°I did read your mind. You¡¯re very easy to read. Also, didn¡¯t your parents ever teach you not to talk to strangers?¡±


    No. They didn¡¯t. I don''t think they did anyway? Suddenly, I¡¯m reminded of that day. All the panic I felt in not knowing what was going on, my mom, my village. Everything about that day was just pure chaos.


    ¡°Oh you poor thing. You lost your mommy. I can help you see her again if you come with me,¡± the dark-haired girl shares.


    My mom? How is that possible?


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Just let me take over you. Close your eyes,¡± she grins.


    My body reacts on its own and all of a sudden my eyes are closed. I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on, but I hear her shuffle around. She no longer has her arms wrapped around mine but instead moves me around by my shoulders. Keeping a tight grip on them, she pushes me against a wall hard and I feel her press against my body.


    ¡°Now stay as quiet as possible. This may hurt but sometimes others like it,¡± she says. Wait, what? I gasp as I feel something sharp stab into my neck. What¡¯s going on? I definitely do not like this! It hurts! Where are the others? Someone help!


    I hear footsteps hurry over to where we are and then suddenly it feels like the sharp objects get ripped from my neck. I yelp in pain and drop to the ground, holding my neck. I open my eyes to see a familiar pair of glowing pink eyes staring at me. With ease, she tosses the dark-haired girl into the sunlight. Immediately, she shrieks and runs away so fast that I don¡¯t even know where she went.


    ¡°What in Zeus Almighty are you doing, Blondy?!¡± Pixie scolds as she helps me up. She inspects my neck and sighs. ¡°You¡¯re one lucky bastard, you know that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I whisper.


    She places her hand on her hip and I look up to see her watching me. When she raises her other hand, I flinch. As she places her hand on my head to pet me, I¡¯m immediately comforted by it. ¡°Just be careful from now on. Don¡¯t talk to strangers, okay?¡± Pixie¡¯s tone is a lot calmer than before.  I nod and follow her back out to the market. She hands me the tunic I wanted from earlier. ¡°Put this in your bag. It¡¯s yours now.¡±


    I take it and stuff it in my bag. I¡¯ll change into it later. We walk around the market a bit more to look for things. Once more, I break away from Pixie and look at a little shop. All it sells is food. It all looks so delicious. As if on queue, my stomach growls to remind me of my hunger. I wanna eat it now. A hand placed on my shoulder startles me and I look up to see a man tower over me. Who is he and why is his hand on my shoulder?


    ¡°What are you doing here, young man?¡± the man asks.


    I¡¯m about to answer him when I remember what Pixie told me. ¡°Sorry, but I was taught not to talk to strangers,¡± I nod in reply and take his hand off my shoulder. I think I''ve learned my lesson today. Taking a couple of steps away from him, I decide to leave and look for my hyungs.


    As I pass by the stalls, I note where some of them are to come back to. I look around and search for a few seconds before spotting familiar sunset-colored hair. ¡°Hyung!¡± I shout as I make my way over to him.


    He turns to look at me and smiles. ¡°Hey. Did you get some clothes?¡± Dae Sung asks.


    I nod. ¡°It¡¯s green.¡± My stomach growls. ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± I pout.


    The older chuckles and pets me. ¡°What do you wanna eat?¡±


    ¡°Bread,¡± I respond.


    ¡°Bread?¡± Dae Sung repeats. ¡°We don''t have the money for bread.¡±


    I huff and cross my arms. ¡°But I want bread,¡± I state.


    ¡°Sorry Ki, but we can¡¯t get that. Just look around some more and we¡¯ll find some food when we¡¯re done. Okay?¡± Dae Sung suggests.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    I¡¯m not happy with it but I nod anyway. Fine. I''ll go look at those shops I saw earlier. I wave to him and head off to find them. On the way there, I find a bread stall. Of course I find a bread stall. It¡¯s the one thing I can¡¯t have right now and the world wants to shove it in my face.


    Instead of fighting it though, I give in to the ways of this world and go over to it. The bread smells so good. I can feel the heat coming off of the freshly cooked ones. That¡¯s the one I want. That bread looks the perfect temperature to eat right now. I could just grab it and share it with the others. Should I? No one is around. Maybe I could get away with it.


    I look around and wait for the perfect moment. The bread shop owner goes to put a new batch of bread in the oven, everyone else is doing their own thing, looking at other shops. Now! I swiftly scoop up that specific piece of bread and run off.


    ¡°Hey!¡± is that the owner? ¡°Guards! My bread has been stolen!¡±


    Heavy footsteps chase after me and my heart beats faster as I hear them get closer. I sprint even faster past all the shops. It¡¯s just bread! Please just let me eat! Why can¡¯t Tyche be on my side for once? While passing by one of the shops, I spot dark purple hair. Pixie! I make a sharp turn and run to her.


    She looks at me and seems to immediately understand the situation at hand from all the commotion. Pixie pulls me close and covers me in her cloak. The back of my head rests on her chest as she holds me close. We abruptly turn around probably to face the shop we were standing at. From underneath the darkness, I hear the guards run by, then stop and ask if anyone has seen me. The people must have told them no as I hear their footsteps get further away.


    Pixie uncovers me and stares at me in disappointment. ¡°What did you do this time?¡± she asks.


    I don¡¯t know how to respond so I just hold up the bread to her. ¡°I got us some bread. I thought we could all share it¡­¡±


    Her pink eyes disappear as she sighs and hangs her head in defeat. ¡°What am I gonna do with you?¡± she asks. ¡°Put it in your bag but don¡¯t you dare ever do that again. I have money and I can pay for what you want. Just tell me next time.¡± I nod and quickly obey, putting the bread in my bag. ¡°And put on your new tunic while you¡¯re at it.¡±


    I grab it out of my bag and slide it on over my old one. It¡¯ll do for now. Looking up at her, I smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t smile. You¡¯re in trouble when we¡¯re done here. Let¡¯s go find the other two,¡± Pixie scolds me again.


    She lets me walk with her under her cloak while we find my hyungs since the guards are still out looking for me. We find them both together and looking at a jewelry shop. Together, we all head out from the market and back into the woods. Once in there, Pixie makes me walk in front of her then proceeds to tell my hyungs about the stealing.


    ¡°Again? You know better than this! We¡¯ve been over this before!¡± Dae Sung scolds.


    Min Su sighs and shakes his head. ¡°Wang Ki used to do this all the time a few years back. But it kept getting us in so much trouble that we made him stop,¡± he tells Pixie. ¡°Don¡¯t start this habit up again!¡± that was to me.


    Thankfully, I¡¯m walking in front of everyone. This means I don''t have to look at them as they yell at me. I know that we¡¯ve been over this. I know that this is a bad habit. I know everything that they¡¯re nagging me about right now. They¡¯re just talking to talk now. I¡¯ve heard it all before.


    ¡°Hey, Blondy,¡± Pixie starts.


    I turn and look at her. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Your intentions were good, I understand that. But it was dangerous. Don''t do it again if you want me to train you,¡± she says.


    ¡°I won''t do it again,¡± I promise.


    ¡°Good.¡± She pats my head and pulls me into a kind of side hug, then rubs my arm. ¡°We should try to stay on the lookout for a cave or an enclosed area of the sorts.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I ask.


    ¡°So that we can stay hidden,¡± she answers. ¡°It¡¯s better to be away from people so that we aren¡¯t targeted for some reason.¡±


    ¡°But then, why are we staying so close to the town then?¡± I wonder.


    Pixie looks at me. ¡°So that we can resupply as needed. Depending on how long we decide to stay, I may need to buy more herbs. Before we leave for good, I will need to buy more anyway.¡± She looks at all of us. ¡°You boys need to rest up and heal for a few days at least.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a few days gonna do for us?¡± Dae Sung speaks up.


    ¡°From the looks of it, it will allow Blondy to fully heal. Since you two had more severe damage, it will take longer. But it will help you heal more as well,¡± Pixie states.


    Min Su nods. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s rest up then.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the older gives in. ¡°Let¡¯s find a place.¡±


    We walk around for a while before finding a clearing surrounded by trees. Pixie looks around and checks the area then turns to us. She nods.


    ¡°This will do. Since trees surround us, we can stay fairly hidden,¡± she confirms. ¡°We can set up camp here and rest.¡±


    We did exactly that. Once camp is set up, even though it¡¯s only a little past midday, I go inside my tent and lay down. Everything was just so new today, it was overwhelming. I close my eyes and take a nap.


    When I awake, I can smell food. I awoke just in time for dinner. I get up and exit my tent. Once out, the older three look at me.


    ¡°Have a nice nap?¡± Pixie asks.


    I nod. ¡°Yeah. I was tired.¡± I run a hand through my hair and rub my face, then sit down next to Dae Sung.


    He looks at me and smiles. ¡°You¡¯re so cute,¡± he chuckles and pinches my cheek.


    ¡°Aye!¡± I protest and pull away from it.


    Dae Sung chuckles and pets me. As if to make up for pinching my cheek, he starts to play with my hair and pats his lap for me to sit. I get up and sit in his lap.


    ¡°The food is almost ready,¡± Pixie says to me.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I reply with a nod. I¡¯m hungry.


    Dae Sung tears off a piece of bread and holds in front of my mouth. ¡°Open,¡± he commands. I obey and he feeds me a piece of bread. It¡¯s mouthwatering. The piece just melts away in my mouth. It tastes so good. A couple of seconds later, he feeds me another piece and suddenly kisses my cheek. I pull away but not quick enough. Oh well. I¡¯m so glad I stole that loaf.


    ¡°You¡¯re babying him again,¡± Min Su says. ¡°The bread is to be eaten with our meal.¡±


    ¡°I know. He¡¯s just so cute,¡± the older replies.


    The younger chuckles and looks at us. I wave at him. He shakes his head and smiles in response.


    During that time, Pixie gets up and passes out the food to us. I get off of Dae Sung¡¯s lap to eat. She gives Min Su his food last and sits in front of him to feed him.


    I know I shouldn¡¯t, but I watch them. As I watch, I see the disappointment in Min Su¡¯s eyes of having to be fed his food. He probably feels helpless. Maybe if his left arm had gotten hurt, it wouldn¡¯t have been such a huge defeat to him. He¡¯d still be able to do things and not have to rely so heavily on someone else. Dae Sung even has to help him get dressed in the morning.


    Pixie interrupts my thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t feel defeated by this, Min Su,¡± she says.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. You¡¯re an assassin. You don''t have to rely on others to make sure you¡¯re okay,¡± Min Su replies.


    She looks at him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t always able to take care of myself. I used to be a normal person. I had a family once. But it all changed and I had to learn how to do everything myself,¡± she stops as if to think about her past. ¡°You should feel lucky that you have people to rely on. It¡¯s hard doing things on your own.¡±


    Pixie used to have a family? I never even thought about that before. What happened? I look over at her. ¡°Can you tell us about your family?¡± I ask.


    She stops and seems to think about it for a moment. ¡°No,¡± she shakes her head. Pixie seems lost in her own thoughts, just staring at Min Su¡¯s food.


    ¡°Pixie?¡± Min Su checks on her.


    Pixie looks up at him and they make eye contact. They don''t break it for a while, just staring. What¡¯s going on? As if snapping out of a trance, Pixie shakes her head and continues feeding Min Su. What just happened?


    No one else talks as we finish eating. Once done, we clean up our mess and get ready for the night. Just like the night before, Pixie tends to our wounds, only this time, no one speaks. It¡¯s as if earlier¡¯s talk was just too much to handle. After all is said and done, we head to our tents and sleep for the night.


    ¡°Find the boy and kill him!¡± a man yells out as I hide behind a tree.


    As the men¡¯s footsteps near me, my heart beats faster in my chest. Without thinking, I make a break for it and sprint as fast as I can in one direction. I feel my face become soaked and I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s from my own tears or the rain. Where are my hyungs? What¡¯s going on?


    ¡°There!¡± another man shouts. ¡°It¡¯s the boy! Grab him!¡±


    They chase after me but why? I don¡¯t think about it as I keep running. My legs ache and my lungs feel like they¡¯re about to explode but I can¡¯t stop now. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to make it at this rate.


    ¡°Hyung!?!¡± I call out hoping they¡¯ll hear me. Where are they? I look around in hopes to find a sign of them somewhere. Nothing. I take off to the right of me and pray that it¡¯s not the wrong way. The trees thin out and I find myself in a clearing.


    ¡°Hyung!?!!¡± I shout out again. That was a bad idea. The men catch up quickly and grab me. One pulls me against him and restrains me. I can¡¯t move but I still try.


    A different man, possibly the leader, walks over to me and holds a knife to my throat. My legs feel so weak but I struggle to escape anyways. As I do, the knife cuts my chin slightly.


    ¡°Don''t move now. This¡¯ll hurt a lot less that way. Just one quick slice and it¡¯ll all be over,¡± the leader says.


    No. I can¡¯t. Please, I don''t wanna die. I have to try something. ¡°Hyung!!!!¡± I shriek for help one last time.


    The man grabs my face and prepares to swing the knife at me.


    I gasp and spring awake in sheer panic. As I sit up, I look up and see the older three standing over me with looks of worry on their faces. As I look at them, a sense of relief washes over me. My chest hurts from panting so hard and tears stream down my face. They just keep getting worse¡­


    Dae Sung is by my side the second I start crying and pulls me close. ¡°We¡¯re right here. You don''t have to be scared anymore,¡± he comforts while running his fingers through my hair. As he holds me in a hug, I bury my face in his chest and we start to sway.


    Min Su sits to the side of me and pats my leg. He then holds my hands and rubs my knuckles with his thumb. It helps a lot. Having the two of them by my side makes me feel safe and I slowly start to calm down.


    Once calm, I look at the two of them. Dae Sung reaches up and wipes my tears. ¡°We came over because you screamed for us in your sleep,¡± he says. ¡°Pixie was the first one in here.¡±


    I look around and note that she¡¯s not in here. ¡°Where did she go?¡± I barely manage to whisper.


    Min Su points to outside the tent. ¡°She¡¯s just outside,¡± he tells me.


    I nod and shakily stand up. My legs are weak from the panic but I head outside anyway. ¡°Pixie?¡± I look at her.


    She turns to me and looks me up and down then sighs in relief. ¡°You gave me a shock. I was worried about you,¡± she states. ¡°But I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for making sure I was okay..¡± I mumble.


    She stares at me for a while. ¡°Never be afraid to call for me if you need help. Just yell my name and I will be by your side to protect you,¡± Pixie speaks calmly.


    I nod. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Go get dressed,¡± she orders.


    I obey and go back to my tent to prepare for the day. Once done, I come back out and sit outside, waiting for the day to start. Slowly, the other two join me.


    ¡°Today will just be a rest day. I know it sounds boring, but just relax and try not to do too much today,¡± Pixie says.


    We all nod in agreement and I decide to lay down. The sun feels nice on my skin. It warms me up and makes me feel at ease. The other two lay down with and snuggle me. Dae Sung pulls me onto his chest and plays with my hair. Min Su just stays close and pats my chest softly. I lay one of my legs across Min Su¡¯s legs so that I¡¯m on him too. This is nice.


    We just stay like that until midday. By that time, I get up because I really have to pee. I make my way over towards the trees then turn and look at them. ¡°I¡¯ll be back! I gotta pee!¡± I tell them. I laugh knowing that Pixie put her hand up in protest like she did last time and run off.


    Once I get a little ways away from the camp, I do my business and get ready to head back. Before I can even turn to leave, someone grabs me and restrains me against their chest. I can tell it¡¯s a man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move or else I¡¯ll kill you,¡± he says to me.


    What? Am I having another nightmare?


    ¡°Is your name Wang Ki?¡± the man asks. How does he know that? I don''t answer him. ¡°Answer me!¡± he demands. ¡°From the description we were told, you look like it.¡±


    What does he want with me? ¡°What would you do if I was him?¡± I ask cautiously.


    He hesitates to answer and my heartbeat starts to speed up. Instead of answering me, he puts a knife to my throat and caws like a bird. What¡¯s going on?


    After around a minute, another man shows up. The one holding the knife to my throat puts it away and pushes me over to the other man. This one¡¯s build is bigger and more muscular. The muscular man grabs my arm tight and stares at me.


    ¡°Should we just kill him now?¡± the bigger one asks.


    The smaller shrugs. ¡°Up to you. All we need is his head for proof.¡±


    ¡°You hold him then.¡± The bigger man throws me back to the smaller one.


    I take the opportunity to punch the guy in the chest and run but to no avail. He grabs my arm and pulls me back over. Quickly, he forces me to my knees and tightly grasps my hands behind my back. ¡°Do it now! Just behead him already!¡± the smaller man commands.


    As the more muscular man begins to take out his sword, I remember what Pixie told me. ¡°Noona!!!¡± I wail. ¡°Help!!!¡±


    The two are taken aback by my scream for help. The bigger man kicks me in the stomach and pushes the smaller man away. I fall onto my chest and cough. I feel one of them step on my back to keep me down and hear the sound of a sword being unsheathed.


    ¡°In the name of the King, I hereby execute Wang Ki,¡± the man states as he swings his sword into the air.


    In a rush of panic, I cry out one last time. ¡°Noona!!!¡±


    At that very moment, I hear a thud on the ground and hurried footsteps. ¡°Wang Ki!¡± that¡¯s Dae Sung¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Get up now!¡± Pixie calls out.


    I hurry to my feet and start towards them. Immediately I¡¯m pulled back and a knife is at my throat again. ¡°This boy, Wang Ki, is a wanted criminal in the name of the King!¡± the smaller man states. ¡°Do not get in our way or you will be too!¡±


    Pixie glares at the man and walks towards him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take another step! Or else I¡¯ll kill him right now!¡± he demands. She stops. I need to do something. What can I do? I look over at Min Su and Dae Sung and see the panic in their eyes. I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s scared right now.


    Without hesitation, I do the only thing I could think of and swing my fist straight in between the man¡¯s legs. He drops his knife and bends over, gasping and making a long drawn out groaning sound as he holds himself. I run as fast as possible over to my hyungs and hug them tightly. When I turn back to him, he still standing there. I don¡¯t think he can move yet despite his efforts to.


    At the moment, Pixie takes out a sword, runs forward, and cleanly cuts the man¡¯s head off. She walks over to the more muscular man to check on him. He tries to grab at her leg in that second. I jump and Pixie must have also been spooked because she jumps and then immediately stomps on his throat. The man shakes for a few seconds and then stops. Is he dead?


    I take a look at the scene in front of me and then it hits what just happened. My stomach reacts with me and I¡¯m suddenly on the ground, throwing up. I just can¡¯t believe what just happened. Afterward, we all silently head back to camp.

 Chapter 4 - Time For Some Training

    A few days pass after the incident and we move camp to a different location. We don''t go too far, just into a cave that¡¯s hidden by trees. During the few days, Pixie was right, I manage to fully heal. Which means today, I get to start training.


    Our new campsite is perfect for training. Outside the cave is a small clearing for a fire and some logs to sit on. The trees that surround us are very thick and keep us well hidden. Inside the cave, we keep our tents and rest there. It¡¯s also where I¡¯ll start my training.


    Once we¡¯ve eaten and cleaned up our mess, I look over at Pixie excitedly. ¡°When do we start?¡± I ask.


    She looks at me and chuckles. ¡°Let¡¯s head inside and then we can start,¡± she answers, leading me into the cave. ¡°First things first, do ten push-ups.¡±


    I look at her confused. ¡°Ten push-ups?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Yes. Do you know how to do a push-up?¡±


    ¡°I know how to do a push-up. But why?¡± I ask.


    Pixie sighs. ¡°In order for you to be able to fight well, you need to build up strength.¡± She walks to stand in front of me. ¡°Now give me ten push-ups.¡±


    I huff and get down into position. With my hands out in front of me, I go down and do one push up. Pixie is apparently not satisfied because she stands next to me and pats my butt.


    ¡°Your butt should not be sticking up in the air,¡± she states. ¡°Your posture is wrong.¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to do one then?¡± I look at her.


    She takes off her cloak and tosses it aside. ¡°Hands need to be shoulder-width apart,¡± she gets down into push-up position to show me. ¡°My back and legs are straight, hips aren¡¯t sagging down, and I¡¯m on my toes.¡± She stays in that position but lifts one hand up to gesture to her posture. ¡°As you come down, arms get closer to your body, face close to the ground, elbows close to your side, and then you come back up the same way.¡± She demonstrates and then looks at me. ¡°Like that. Now you try.¡±


    I get back down and copy her position. It¡¯s a lot harder to even hold than I expected it to be. To make sure it¡¯s correct, I look up at Pixie and she nods. I take a deep breath and go down shakily. Once I¡¯m there though, I can¡¯t get back up and just end up on the ground.


    ¡°I don''t think I can do ten push-ups,¡± I confess.


    Pixie chuckles and nods. ¡°I noticed. Stand up. We¡¯ll do something else. As training continues, you¡¯ll start to slowly build up muscle. I want you to practice as often as possible. Understand?¡±


    I nod quickly and stand up.


    ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s try some hand to hand combat,¡± she suggests. ¡°Show me a fighting stance.¡±


    I¡¯m not too certain how to do a fighting stance, but I know from watching Dae Sung that you¡¯re supposed to put your hands up. I put my fists up and look at Pixie. She walks over to me and puts her hand out in front of me, open-palmed. I put mine out as well.


    ¡°When you make a fist, do not put your thumb inside of it. Keep it out and let it rest on top of your other fingers. Like this.¡± Pixie makes a proper fist and shows me. I copy.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t my thumb be inside?¡± I ask.


    Pixie looks at me and then shows me her fist with the thumb on the inside. ¡°If I go to punch someone with my fist like this, I¡¯ll break my thumb before I do any damage to the other guy. And you do not want a broken thumb,¡± she explains.


    I look down at my hands and switch back and forth from the proper and improper fist. Nodding, I look up and settle with the correct one. It feels more comfortable anyways. After learning how to make a fist, I get back into my fighting stance.


    She looks me up and down and then gets into her own fighting stance. ¡°Everyone can have their own stance, just as long as it protects you. Show me a punch.¡± Pixie commands.


    I know how to do this. I jump around slightly and then throw my body into a powerful punch.


    ¡°No! Strength does not equal power! Throwing your whole body into one punch can be dangerous. You need to learn the correct form. The power behind a punch comes from the hip!¡± Pixie corrects me and then demonstrates. ¡°Look at my arm. Even though I¡¯ve just finished punching, it¡¯s not completely straight. Do not lock your arm after a punch. Someone could easily break your arm that way.¡±


    As it turns out, I really know nothing about fighting. The whole day consists of me learning how to punch and stand properly. Pixie says a good foundation is the most important. Once I have the basics down, I can move on to more advanced skills. That¡¯s the part that I¡¯m waiting for. We stop as the sun sets so that we can eat.


    I walk out of the cave and towards the smell of food. It seems to be almost ready. I sit next to Min Su and lean on him.


    ¡°Hey Hyung,¡± I smile.


    He looks at me and gives me a half-smile while petting my hair. ¡°Hey, kiddo.¡±


    ¡°I started training today. But it was a little boring. All I did was learn basics,¡± I tell him.


    ¡°Good for you,¡± he nods.


    Sensing his sour tone, I stop leaning on him and help Dae Sung with the food. I grab Min Su¡¯s plate and cut up his food. I want to feed him today. Once I¡¯m done cutting it up, I head over to him and hold out a piece to him.


    Min Su looks up at me and then away. ¡°I don¡¯t want it,¡± he shakes his head.


    ¡°Hyung, eat.¡± I insist. ¡°You always told me it¡¯ll make me big and strong.¡±


    ¡°I said no!¡± Min Su shouts all of a sudden and stands up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to become big and strong! I am big and strong!¡± He knocks the plate out of my hands and pushes me down, walking away to his tent angrily. What did I do wrong?


    I watch as Dae Sung quickly follows him into the tent. Sighing, I hug my knees and sit there. That was mean. I can just barely make out the sounds of the older two talking until Dae Sung speaks up.


    ¡°Min Su! Stop this! That was uncalled for!¡± the older shouts.


    ¡°You have no right to tell me what to do! You can still use both of your arms!¡± it sounds like Min Su is about to cry. ¡°Just leave. Me. Alone.¡± He finishes, walking out of the tent and off into the woods.


    ¡°Min Su! Don''t! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± Dae Sung calls after him.


    ¡°I don''t care!¡± the younger yells.


    Pixie walks over to me and holds a hand out to help me up. I take it and sit down on the log next to her. She hands me my plate and pets me.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard not to, but don''t get upset by your hyung¡¯s actions,¡± she tells me. ¡°He¡¯s very discouraged right now.¡±


    I just nod and eat. Dae Sung joins us later and eats as well. Instead of eating all of his food, he leaves some. Maybe for Min Su?


    After we clean up and before Pixie tends to our wounds, Min Su comes back. Dae Sung stops him from going into their tent and shows him the food. The younger still tries to deny it but gives in when his stomach growls. He lets the older feed him and then they go into their tent together. I follow to watch.


    Pixie goes in and tends to Dae Sung¡¯s wounds first. She unwraps his head and puts those herbs on the wound. Afterward, she wraps it back up and smiles.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost healed. If you¡¯d like, you can train with us tomorrow,¡± she says.


    Dae Sung smiles and nods. ¡°I would like that.¡± He gets up and lets Min Su sit.


    Pixie unwraps his arm, much easier this time, and puts the herbs on him as well. The whole time, Min Su just stares at his arm. He¡¯s clearly upset and it doesn¡¯t seem like this is helping his mood.


    ¡°I hate this,¡± he finally speaks up. ¡°Why can¡¯t you heal me faster? All this talk about having a healer in our party and you can¡¯t even heal this?!¡±


    Pixie glares at him. ¡°You need to calm down. I told you, I¡¯m not a healer,¡± she states.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s find one! I¡¯m tired of being the useless one that has to get fed everyday! Everyone else gets to do training and here I am! What do I get to do? Watch! That¡¯s what! I¡¯m tired of it!¡± Min Su shouts. ¡°What kind of pixie are you, if not a healer?! You have healing magick!¡±


    I am so confused. Even though I have a lot of questions, I stay quiet and just watch them.


    Pixie sighs. ¡°Every fae has healing magick. Though, the strength of it depends on the type of fae. I am not a healing pixie. In fact, I¡¯ve never had the chance to find out what kind of pixie I am.¡± She looks at him and Min Su stares back. ¡°If you really insist, we can travel to the Elven Kingdom. Many fae reside there and I¡¯m sure we can find you a healer there.¡±


    Min Su nods. ¡°Please¡­ I just don''t want to be useless anymore.¡± He sounds so defeated.


    Pixie nods and finishes tending to his arm in silence. ¡°Alright. Not tomorrow, but the next day, we will head out for the Elven Kingdom,¡± she concludes.


    ¡°Why not tomorrow?¡± Min Su challenges.


    Pixie shoots him a look and he seems to deflate in defeat. ¡°I¡¯m training tomorrow. Even if you aren¡¯t able to do anything, you can watch and learn that way.¡±


    Min Su stays quiet and nods. Once his arm is wrapped back up, he waves Dae Sung over for help in getting undressed. Pixie and I leave the tent. She starts to walk towards the trees.


    ¡°Hey, Noona?¡± I stop her.


    She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. ¡°What is it, Blondy?¡±


    I sigh and look at her. ¡°Will you sleep in my tent with me? You don''t have to sleep outside. Plus I think I sleep better with someone next to me? Usually, it¡¯s with my hyungs, but I also trust you. I just¡­ I really don''t wanna have another nightmare,¡± I ramble.


    Pixie walks over and runs her hand through my hair. ¡°Of course. I understand all too well,¡± she smiles at me. What does she mean by that? Before I have any more time to think, she pulls me into a tight hug. I hug back. This is nice. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed now.¡±


    I nod and run to my tent. Smiling, I take off my tunic and toss it in the corner of my tent. Pixie enters at that moment to see it land.


    ¡°Pick that up and fold it. I just bought that for you,¡± she commands, pointing to it.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I huff and fold it, setting it down in the same place. Normally when I sleep, I take off my pants as well, leaving just my braies. But with Pixie in here, I hesitate and just hold onto the side of my pants.


    She looks over at me and chuckles, then turns around as if understanding my hesitation. I quickly take them off and lay down. She stays turned away from me as she takes off her cloak and sets it down. I watch her curiously. I¡¯m also reminded of how many weapons she actually has as she starts to take them all off and set them next to my clothes. Afterwards, she turns and lays down next to me.


    ¡°Are you comfortable like that?¡± I ask. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of clothes still.¡±


    Pixie smiles. ¡°Are those good intentions? Or are you just trying to get me to take my clothes off?¡±


    My face heats up at the question. That was not what I had in mind. ¡°Noona!¡± my voice cracks. ¡°I just want to make sure you¡¯re comfortable!¡±


    She laughs at the break in my voice and pets me. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. I¡¯m comfortable like this. You have to remember that I can sleep in a tree,¡± she says.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I nod and smile as I put my hands behind my head. Suddenly, I¡¯m reminded of the men who tried to kill me and I turn on my side towards Pixie. ¡°Hey, Noona?¡±


    Pixie hums and glances over at me. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Those men that were after me. They said that I was a criminal and that they were gonna execute me in the name of the King,¡± I tell her. ¡°Who¡¯s the King? And what does he want with me?¡±


    She stops and stares at me. ¡°The King called you a criminal? But you¡¯re only 14. Aside from a little stealing, you¡¯ve done nothing wrong. Right?¡± she asks.


    I just shrug. ¡°I don''t know. Ever since the pillage on my home, men show up at random and try to kidnap me. I thought it was just ¡®cause I was an easy target and that they were gonna sell me to creepy old men or something.¡±


    Pixie looks to be at a loss of words. She doesn¡¯t speak for a long while as she gathers her thoughts. ¡°If you¡¯re wanted by the King, then I¡¯ll definitely protect you. That asshole is the reason I don¡¯t have a family anymore,¡± she says.


    ¡°¡®That asshole¡¯?¡± I repeat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It¡¯s a bad word. I¡¯m older than you, so I¡¯m allowed to say it,¡± she scolds.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I huff. ¡°That hardly seems fair. I¡¯m old enough to say that!¡± I pout.


    She chuckles. ¡°When you don''t squeak every time you talk, then maybe we¡¯ll see about letting you use more sophisticated words like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mean,¡± I tell her.


    She shrugs. ¡°Oh well.¡±


    I huff again and push her shoulder. She chuckles and pulls me closer, then wraps her arm around my neck. She flexes several times and jerks my head around each time.


    ¡°Stooop!¡± I whine and hit her arm.


    Pixie laughs and lets me go. ¡°Alright. Now go to sleep,¡± she smiles and rolls over onto her stomach, head resting in her arms, to sleep. I lay next to her and drift to sleep.


    Morning arrives and I stir awake to find myself hugging Pixie¡¯s arm. She¡¯s already awake but hasn¡¯t moved. I let go of her arm and sit up.


    ¡°Morning Blondy,¡± she says as she pets me. ¡°Ready for some training?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nod and stand up. Grabbing my clothes, I start to get dressed. Pixie grabs her things and exits the tent. As she leaves, it dawns on me that I didn¡¯t have a nightmare last night. I smile and finish getting ready. Then, I make my way outside.


    Once outside, to my surprise, I see Min Su standing with Dae Sung. After last night¡¯s fight, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d want to watch us train.


    ¡°Today, we¡¯ll start with the basics again. If Dae Sung catches on quickly, then we¡¯ll move on to combat again,¡± Pixie states. ¡°If the sun allows for it, we might find your fighting styles too. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We head further into the cave and start the same as we did yesterday.


    ¡°Alright. Push up position. Now,¡± she commands.


    We both get down and hold ourselves up. I wait for Pixie to correct Dae Sung, but she doesn¡¯t.


    ¡°Down,¡± she says.


    Just like yesterday, I struggle to go down. Hyung, on the other hand, goes down no problem. Pixie makes us hold the position before speaking again, ¡°Up.¡±


    Once again, Dae Sung comes up easily while I can¡¯t even lift myself back up. I end up falling over and sighing.


    ¡°Get into position again and just hold yourself up. While Dae Sung does some push-up, we¡¯ll work on your arm strength,¡± she states.


    I get back to the way I was and hold myself up. Looking over at Dae Sung, I can see that he isn¡¯t struggling at all and is just waiting for Pixie to tell him what to do.


    ¡°Since you already know how to do a proper push-up, I want you to do as many as you can. Show me how strong you are,¡± Pixie tells him.


    I notice Hyung smile. ¡°That¡¯s what I was waiting for,¡± he speaks. As he starts his push-ups, I watch and keep count. With every up and down motion, I note all the muscles that flex. I didn¡¯t know he was that strong. While I¡¯m already struggling just to keep myself up, Hyung doesn¡¯t seem to start struggling until 20 in. At 25 push-ups, he holds himself up and takes a quick break before quickly doing five more. After that, he stops and looks at Pixie.


    ¡°How was that?¡± he asks arrogantly.


    She nods. ¡°Good job. You can both take a quick rest now,¡± she says.


    Finally, I lay on the ground and just relax. I have no muscles at all. Watching Dae Sung do all those push-ups made me realize how weak I really am. That just means I have to work harder though.


    Dae Sung gets up and sits next to Min Su. I watch as the older keeps Min Su in good spirits as they talk. I wonder what they¡¯re talking about?


    After a short break, Pixie comes back and has us get into a fighting stance. I watch as she looks Dae Sung¡¯s stance up and down but says nothing about it. ¡°Throw me a punch,¡± she says instead.


    Neither of us gets corrected as we do so. Even though I started training a day before, Dae Sung already knows everything. He doesn¡¯t get corrected at all and he even learns fast. At this rate, I¡¯ll fall behind again. Once we go over the basics, Pixie leads us outside to stand in front of the trees. She picks up some rocks and hands us three each. Then, she suddenly waves Min Su over.


    ¡°Give me your left hand,¡± she demands.


    He does so and she places three rocks in his hand as well. ¡°What''s this for?¡± he asks.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± she answers and turns away from him. ¡°Starting from Dae Sung, I want you to aim at the tree in front of you and toss the rock at it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that gonna do for us?¡± Dae Sung challenges.


    Pixie chuckles. ¡°It lets me see how good your aim is.¡±


    Daesung lets his arm hang and shuffles the rocks around in his hand. "I don''t know about Wang Ki, but my aim is perfect," he laughs and hops slightly. Min Su can''t help but laugh with him.


    Pixie shakes her head. "Boys," she sighs.


    Did I just miss something? I''m so confused.


    Ignoring my confusion, Dae Sung just huffs and steps up. He throws the rock as hard as he can at the tree and misses. I can¡¯t help but giggle. So much for perfect aim. He shoots a quick glare to shut me up and throws another one. That one does hit. But since the next one misses, I can assume it was just a lucky shot.


    My turn! I step up and then suddenly remember something. ¡°Noona! Can I grab my slingshot?¡± I ask excitedly. She nods and I run off to my tent to grab it. As I hurry back, I load up one of the rocks and get back to my place. Once there, I aim, shoot, and hit! I don''t miss a single time and look at Dae Sung. "Who''s got perfect aim now?" I tease and stick my tongue out at him.


    Looking over at Pixie, I hope for some praise. She says nothing and instead picks up three more rocks and hands them to me.


    ¡°Do it again, only aim for that tree now,¡± she points to the tree to the left of us. ¡°Don''t move from this spot.¡±


    I nod quickly. I totally got this. Once again, I load, aim, and release. Not a single miss. I look over at Pixie again for praise but her arms are crossed. Is she not happy with my results?


    When she catches me watching her, she comes over and pets me. ¡°Good job,¡± she says. Then, she turns to Min Su. ¡°Now hit that tree with the rocks using your left.¡±


    Hang on. Hyung is right-handed. Why is she making him throw with his left? I mean, I guess he can¡¯t exactly use his right side but why make him use his left? Nonetheless, he throws the rock and it misses by a long shot. You can tell he doesn¡¯t use his left very often because each throw is way different from the last.


    ¡°Keep practicing with your left. I want you to be able to use both sides by the time you are healed,¡± Pixie states.


    Min Su nods and bounces in place. He¡¯s clearly much happier to be able to do something other than just watch. It shows in everything he does. Every action is done with more bounce and the smallest hint of a smile. I guess this is better than nothing.


    ¡°Dae Sung!¡± Pixie calls out. ¡°Come with me and we¡¯ll work on your fighting style.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Work on your strength and aim. I¡¯ll be with you later in the day,¡± she replies as she walks away with Dae Sung.


    Since my aim is already great, I get down into push up position and just hold myself up. Min Su sits in front of me and chuckles.


    ¡°If you bend your knees and let them rest on the ground, you can do a push up easier,¡± he advises.


    ¡°Really?¡± I ask. Then, I let my knees hit the ground and do one push up. ¡°This is a lot easier.¡±


    We both laugh and he pets me. ¡°How many can you do now?¡± he asks.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find out,¡± I reply and start counting. With the new way, I¡¯m able to ten no problem. I struggle more after that. At 15, I stop and sit with Min Su.


    ¡°You¡¯re weak,¡± Min Su laughs. ¡°But if you keep doing them like that, then you¡¯ll eventually be able to do them normally. The way that Pixie wants. It just takes practice is all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks,¡± I nod. ¡°Hey Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He looks at me.


    ¡°I think everything will be okay. We¡¯ll get you healed, you can train, and your arm will be as good as new. Don''t you think? It¡¯s magick, so like, things work better that way,¡± I give a small laugh. ¡°After that, we can all train together! Noona hasn¡¯t steered us wrong yet, don¡¯cha think?¡± I smile at him.


    Min Su nods and pats my leg. ¡°Just remember that things don¡¯t always go our way,¡± he warns. ¡°Plus, everyone makes mistakes. Human or not.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I wonder.


    ¡°Just in case,¡± he replies. ¡°Keep building up your arm strength though. She obviously has a reason that she wants you stronger.¡±


    ¡°Other than the fact that I¡¯m a weakling?¡± I remark.


    Min Su hits my arm and laughs. ¡°Yes. Other than that. Now get to it!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± I reply and keep building up my strength. Repeatedly, I hold myself up, do ten push-ups, and rest. In no time, half the day goes by and Pixie comes back out with Dae Sung.


    ¡°Alright, Blondy. Your turn. Let¡¯s go,¡± she commands.


    I hop up excitedly and follow her into the cave. As I look around, I notice all her weapons are laid out on the ground. Her cloak is off and sat down next to my tent.


    ¡°So what am I gonna be doing?¡± I ask.


    She turns to me. ¡°Well, I have an idea on what fighting style you¡¯d be most comfortable with. From evaluating your knowledge in hand-to-hand combat and seeing how much better you performed in the aim test, I¡¯ve come to a conclusion,¡± she states.


    I raise my hand. ¡°Hold on! You¡¯re using big words. Please dumb it down. I¡¯m only 14,¡± I say.


    Pixie pauses and stares at me. She chuckles slightly. ¡°You¡¯re already 14. The more you hear the way I speak, the more words you learn, the more sophisticated, or smarter, you¡¯ll sound. I¡¯m sure you can figure out what I said just by thinking a little bit.¡± She runs a hand through her hair and watches me. ¡°I know you¡¯re a smart boy. I can tell that you think about a lot of things. You just need to put your thinking into practice. Think, predict, make judgements, and do better things. You can do anything you put your mind to.¡±


    I¡¯m at a loss for words at the sudden moving speech she gives me. Looking at her, I nod. Just by those words alone, I can tell that Noona really cares about me. I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s joined us.


    ¡°Now. Onto your fighting style,¡± Pixie gets back to the topic at hand. She turns around and picks up a bow, then faces me again. ¡°I think you¡¯re best suited as a ranger. The only problem is your strength. To be able to pull a bow back, you need strength in your arms. Not only do you need it for that, but also to hold the arrow in place as you aim. It¡¯s just like what you would do with your slingshot.¡± She pulls the bow back in an example of how it¡¯s supposed to look.


    ¡°So, a ranger?¡± I ask, looking from the bow to her. ¡°Can you explain more what that means?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Of course. A ranger is not an up-close fighter. Their weapons of choice usually consist of either bow and arrows, crossbows, javelins, or any other weapons that you can use at a distance.¡± She stops, probably not sure how to explain it any better.


    ¡°Okay!¡± I smile. ¡°I understand now.¡±


    Pixie seems relieved at my comment. ¡°Good. Here.¡± She hands me the bow. ¡°I want you to try and draw it back as if you¡¯re nocking an arrow on it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I take the bow and look at it. ¡°How do I hold it?¡±


    ¡°However it feels most comfortable,¡± she answers. ¡°Unless of course, it¡¯s way off, then I¡¯ll correct you.¡±


    I nod and take a second to just get a feel for the weapon in my hands. After a short while, I take the wooden part in my left hand and hold it out in front of me. Using my other hand, I grab the string.


    ¡°Use two fingers to draw back the bowstring,¡± Pixie corrects.


    Taking her advice, I put two fingers onto the bowstring and attempt to pull it back. It barely moves. I laugh at how weak I am and try again. Taking a deep breath, I pull on the bowstring. Once again, barely anything happens and I look at her. ¡°Noona!¡± I whine.


    She laughs. ¡°You¡¯re doing great. This is more or less what I was expecting.¡±


    I huff. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair!¡±


    ¡°Oh quit being so dramatic. As we keep training, you¡¯ll build up muscle and be able to draw the bow back soon. When you can finally do ten push up, we¡¯ll see how well you can do it then,¡± she states.


    I nod and look at the bow. The wood used, while it is bendable, it¡¯s very strong. It isn¡¯t a type of wood I¡¯ve seen before though. Just the feel of the bow is very comfortable in my hands. I like it a lot.


    ¡°You can keep it,¡± Pixie says suddenly. ¡°I can tell you like it by the way you stare at it. When I was a little older than you, I made that bow. I had trained a whole year before the girls took me out into the woods to pick out everything needed to make it.¡± She looks away and nods as if remembering the time.


    Looking at the bow, I smile. This was Noona¡¯s first weapon. She made this. That just makes this bow even more special to me. I definitely want to be able to use it now. I look up at her and grin. Soon, this will be my weapon. I¡¯ll make sure of it.


    As if seeing the determination in my eyes, Pixie smiles and nods. ¡°Let¡¯s keep training and soon you¡¯ll be able to use it.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I reply. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s what I like to hear,¡± she nods. ¡°Now put that bow down! We¡¯re gonna train some more! It¡¯s not just your arms that are weak. You¡¯re weak everywhere! I want you to run to that tree and back 30 times! Let¡¯s go! Now! Start!¡± she commands.


    I¡¯m startled by the sudden demands and run off. This isn¡¯t so bad. I can run. Hopefully, I can run there and back 30 times though.


    As I run out, I spot Dae Sung and Min Su talking to each other. They both look up and see me. I wave, touch the tree, and quickly run back. I notice them laugh but I ignore it.


    ¡°Faster, faster!¡± Pixie yells out.


    I run as fast as I can. On my fifth trip to the tree, as I turn to run back, my foot slips and I end up face planting into the dirt. Dae Sung gets up to help me, but I get up faster and keep going. I¡¯m fine. I do ten more rounds before I really start to feel out of breath.


    ¡°This is torture!¡± I shout.


    ¡°I can promise you it¡¯s not,¡± Pixie¡¯s voice sounds almost cold with that statement. ¡°If you¡¯ve got the breath to yell, you¡¯ve got the breath to run! Come on! Five more!¡± She yells back.


    Five more trips and I stop in front of her. I put my hands on my knees and pant to try and catch my breath. I feel her place a hand on my back and pat it.


    ¡°Good job Blondy,¡± she says. ¡°You did good today. Keep it up.¡± She turns away from me. ¡°Now everyone rest up. Tomorrow, we start our journey to the Elven Kingdom.¡±


    I plop down onto the ground. Everyone gathers around this spot to chat.


    Min Su speaks up. ¡°When are we leaving tomorrow?¡± he asks.


    ¡°I was thinking that we start leaving around midday from now on?¡± Pixie suggests. ¡°That gives us time to clean up, train for a little, and have a quick bite to eat. It might take a bit longer, but I think it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±


    ¡°How far away is it anyways?¡± Dae Sung wonders.


    Pixie chuckles and looks at them. ¡°It¡¯s very far. Deep into the woods and hidden well. Since the war on magick started, the Elven Kingdom made sure that it was much harder for humans to find them.¡±


    I turn my attention to them. ¡°There¡¯s a war?¡± my voice cracks but I¡¯m too tired to care.


    Pixie looks at me and nods. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s been a war going on for six years. Ever since that Tyrant became the King, all of magickkind have had to hide in fear that they¡¯ll be found out and killed. Only small villages, far from the castle, have been able to keep peace with the others. But it¡¯s only a matter of time before the war catches up with them too.¡±


    ¡°Six years¡­¡± I repeat with a sigh. ¡°Sounds like Loki¡¯s been having too much fun.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a joking matter, Wang Ki!¡± Pixie snaps. ¡°People are dying! Humans and Magickkind alike. I fear for what this world will be like when you¡¯re my age!¡±


    Looking up, I lock eyes with her. I can see it in her eyes. All the fear, pain, and worry. She isn¡¯t this way because she wants to be. She¡¯s this way because the world made her change. This is a world where it¡¯s survival of the fittest. You need to either get strong and defend yourself, or you die.


    ¡°How did you survive four years on your own like this?¡± she asks.


    I stand up and watch her. ¡°Sheer stupidity and luck,¡± I answer. ¡°Thank you for saving us. I¡¯m sure one day I¡¯ll have the chance to repay after you¡¯ve finished training us.¡± I head for my tent.


    Pixie grabs my arm and stops me. ¡°I just want you boys to be careful. If you don''t understand the world around you, you could be killed without even knowing why.¡± She looks at me. ¡°Are you fully human? It¡¯s the only explanation I can think of that would make the King go after you.¡±


    Dae Sung speaks for me. ¡°We¡¯re all human. No one in our village was magickal at all.¡±


    ¡°Then why was our village attacked?¡± I ask. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense to me. If we¡¯re all human, what did the King want with our village? Why did he kill my mom?!¡±


    ¡°Ki, calm down,¡± Dae Sung holds my hand. ¡°We¡¯ll figure this out. I promise.¡±


    I take a deep breath and nod. Looking at Pixie, I see her watching Min Su. ¡°Min Su hyung? What are you thinking about? You haven¡¯t said a word about this.¡±


    Hyung snaps his attention to me. ¡°Uh, just about my Appa. I remember seeing him get killed that day¡­¡± he nods sadly.


    ¡°What about your mom?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I never knew her, she died giving birth to me,¡± he answers and looks at Pixie. She seems to understand and nods.


    ¡°Well, right now, we should all head to bed. The sun is setting and we will need energy to start our journey tomorrow,¡± Pixie comforts everyone with a head pat. ¡°We wake up at dawn for training.¡±


    We all nod and head to our tents. I stop and look at Pixie. ¡°You can stay with me again, Noona,¡± I tell her.


    She looks at me and nods. ¡°I would like that.¡± Pixie smiles and follows me into the tent. We both get ready for the night and lay down. Since I¡¯ll probably end up that way anyways, I snuggle into her side and smile. I hear her let out a small chuckle as she puts her arm around me and pulls me onto her chest. This is much more comfortable than Dae Sung¡¯s.


    ¡°Your chest is comfier than Hyung¡¯s,¡± I point out.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I have boobs. Don''t touch them or I¡¯ll break your fingers,¡± she threatens while petting me. ¡°Get comfortable though.¡±


    While the pets are comforting, her threat makes me confused about how to feel. Nonetheless, I do as I¡¯m told and lay on her comfortably. Just like that, I feel myself drift to sleep.

 Chapter 5 - The War

    Morning comes all too soon as we¡¯re made to start training by sunrise. By midday, we pack up camp and head out to start our journey.


    Since I still can¡¯t draw the bowstring back, Pixie makes me work on my arm strength by constantly trying to pull it back. Every so often, I stop and attempt to pull it back. When I think that I¡¯ve made progress, the next draw back reminds me of how weak I actually am. Frustrated, I huff and sling it onto my back, catching up with the others.


    ¡°How long will it take to get to the Elfish Kingdom?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Elven Kingdom,¡± Pixie corrects. ¡°And possibly two or three moons. It¡¯s quite a ways away.¡±


    ¡°Two or three moons?!¡± I whine. ¡°Come on!¡±


    ¡°Snowfall will be here in six moons!¡± Dae Sung points out.


    Pixie nods, unfazed by our surprise. ¡°Yes. And we can prepare for snowfall while we¡¯re there. The Elven Kingdom is very prosperous and has many markets inside.¡± She turns to us. ¡°There will also be a lot of new things for you all to see.¡±


    That¡¯s actually really exciting. I¡¯m always ready to see new and cool things. I look at her as the mention of the Elven Kingdom reminds me of our conversation from last night. ¡°Hey Noona? Can you tell us more about the war?¡± I ask. ¡°We don''t really know about it at all.¡±


    She looks at all of us and nods. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a very important topic.¡± Pixie takes a deep breath and sighs. ¡°But like I said last night, it started six years ago when the new king came to power.¡±


    ¡°How did that happen? What happened to the old one?¡± I wonder.


    Pixie sighs again. ¡°The Late King was assassinated. Normally when a king dies, his son would take his place in power. However, no one knows who he is or even where he is. So, because of this, the tyrant took his place.¡±


    ¡°How did the war start? What did he do?¡± I question.


    Noona thinks for a moment before speaking. ¡°It started with the village nearest to the palace. He had his troops raid the village, capture all the magickal creatures within it, and then he had them executed in front of a crowd of people. Many tried to escape but failed.¡± she pauses. ¡°Once word got out what was going on, others were able to flee. But the regular townsfolk also took it upon themselves to degrade and torment the people they once considered friends. This is how the war spread. And it spread quickly. There used to be so many villages with human and magickkind integrated. Now, almost none.¡±


    ¡°What about your village?¡± Min Su asks.


    ¡°There used to be so many fae in my town. Once the war started¡­¡± she trails off and pauses. ¡°None now.¡± She looks at him.


    ¡°They were all killed?¡± the younger wonders.


    Slowly and sadly, Pixie nods. ¡°Yes. They were,¡± she runs a hand through her hair as she replies. ¡°The ones who do manage to escape though, usually seek refuge in the Elven Kingdom. It¡¯s the home for all of Magickkind.¡±


    ¡°How far is the King wanting to go?¡± Dae Sung jumps in. ¡°What does he want with the magickal creatures?¡±


    ¡°He wants them gone,¡± Pixie replies coldly. ¡°A mass killing of all Magickkind. He¡¯s even willing to travel to other lands to start war there!¡± she sighs. ¡°Our only hope is that the Late King¡¯s son will miraculously appear and take his rightful place on the throne.¡±


    ¡°But we don''t know anything about this guy,¡± I interrupt. ¡°What if he¡¯s just as bad or even worse? Has anyone even seen him before?¡±


    Pixie turns to me and smiles. She pulls me into a side hug and rubs my arm. ¡°Those are all good questions. However, I have faith that the Late King raised his son well.¡±


    ¡°He sounds like a coward,¡± Min Su speaks.


    I turn to him. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Why?¡± Min Su sounds almost offended. ¡°Because while all these people are out here dying, he thinks it okay to hide! Running away from his responsibilities as a prince and letting innocent people die! If he actually cared about this land and his people, he¡¯d do something about it. It¡¯s been six years!¡±


    ¡°What if there¡¯s a reason for his hiding though?¡± I challenge. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s preparing an attack on the palace to take his place as we speak.¡±


    Dae Sung interrupts our conversation. ¡°While that sounds nice and all, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that many homes and villages have been destroyed. We don¡¯t exactly have a home to go back to. Even if a new king were to come into power, what would that do for us? For all the people, humans and magickkind alike, who don''t have a place to go back to?¡±


    Pixie stops to look at us. ¡°It would give people hope,¡± she simply says. ¡°It would give people the ability to rebuild and start anew. Start fresh with the new friends and families that they¡¯ve made.¡±


    ¡°Like us,¡± I add with a smile. ¡°We¡¯re all family now, don¡¯cha think?¡± I look at everyone.


    All of them stare at me. Noona smiles and nods. Both Dae Sung and Min Su look from each other to Pixie, then back at me as they nod.


    ¡°Exactly like us,¡± Pixie confirms. ¡°Our hope is that the prince is alive and like his father.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll meet him on our journey,¡± Dae Sung suggests.


    ¡°Even if we did, we wouldn¡¯t know it. We don¡¯t even know his name,¡± Min Su argues.


    Pixie joins their conversation. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor going around that only the people in power know his name. All the Kings and Queens of this land, along with possibly their counsels, know about him. I heard that they even know what he looks like.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s just a rumor,¡± Min Su points out.


    ¡°Fair point,¡± Pixie nods. ¡°But it is possible.¡±


    I giggle and smile at their talk. This is all so exciting! There is hope in this world after all! My excitement is too much to contain as I run forward and hop onto a big rock. I then turn to them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go my fellow adventurers! Adventure awaits us! It has been confirmed that there is indeed hope for the future once more!¡± I announce.


    As I look down at the others, I see them all smiling at my announcement. Pixie laughs and waves me back down.


    ¡°Alright c¡¯mon. Let¡¯s go, little adventurer,¡± she says.


    I smile and laugh as I hop down. We continue on to our next campsite.


    Fourteen days go by with the same routine. Wake up, train, and make our way to the Elven Kingdom. Today is no different. Except for the fact that I am very tired. My body aches from all our training. I just want to take a break for one day.


    As we head out for more travel, I lag behind just a little. ¡°Noona?¡± I start. ¡°Can we just rest tomorrow? I hurt all over and I just feel gross.¡±


    She turns to me and looks as if she¡¯s about to protest, but decides against it. ¡°Yes, we can. Let¡¯s find somewhere to take a rest. I¡¯m sure by this point, we could all use one.¡±


    We all nod in agreement and start our search. Pixie hangs back to walk next to Min Su.


    ¡°How are we doing on food right now?¡± she asks him.


    ¡°Last time I checked, we were almost out. We¡¯ll definitely need more here soon. I can check again once we set up for the night,¡± Hyung answers.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Noona nods and rubs his back. ¡°I¡¯ll go hunting tonight too.¡±


    It seems like Pixie has been trying to find small things for Min Su to do so that he doesn¡¯t get stir-crazy again. From the looks of it, it definitely seems to be working. He hasn¡¯t thrown a fit since that night we decided to start our journey. Hyung even watches us train and Pixie tries to let him participate in some exercises. He just, in general, is a lot happier. It also might be because we¡¯re going to get his arm healed too.


    I turn my attention back to the search at hand. We need to find a place where we can set up camp and maybe wash our clothes I hope.


    ¡°What are we looking for?¡± I ask. ¡°Can we wash our clothes too?¡±


    Pixie glances at me. ¡°Let¡¯s find a river and follow it. Once we get close enough to a good campsite, we can stop there,¡± she replies.


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t seen a river in days!¡± I complain.


    Min Su shushes me and kneels down.


    ¡°What are you-?¡± I start.


    ¡°Hush,¡± he interrupts and stays quiet for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but I think I hear running water coming from the left of us. Should we try for it?¡±


    Pixie shrugs. ¡°Might as well. It¡¯s our best bet at this point.¡±


    Min Su gets back up and leads the way. Sure enough, after a bit of walking, we find a river.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± I say. ¡°Now we follow it?¡±


    Pixie hits my arm to scold my word choice and nods. The older two agree and head off in the direction of its flow. I rub my arm and follow. Along the way, I spot some fish! That can be our dinner!


    ¡°Noona! Look! Can you catch fish for dinner tonight?¡± I point at the river and smile.


    She turns to me and chuckles. ¡°Yes, but not right now. Let¡¯s get camp set up first,¡± she answers.


    I nod excitedly and keep walking. As we walk, the trees around us start to thin out. Seems like we¡¯re getting somewhere. Are we possibly getting close to a town? Once the trees disappear, we come onto a clearing. Instead of finding a town, we find a mountainside. It stands very tall and stretches out far in both directions. Maybe we can find a cave.


    Unfortunately,  the river that we happen to be following, also gets stopped by the mountainside. So much for that plan.


    ¡°Great. Now what?¡± Dae Sung asks.


    Pixie points off in the distance. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We¡¯re bound to find somewhere to set up camp. And if nothing else, we can walk back for clean drinking water,¡± she comforts.


    Reluctantly, we continue to trudge on. It¡¯s nothing but mountain and shrub. However, my curiosity gets the best of me and I decide to check out the shrubs and vines. Low and behold, I stumble upon a cave! It was well hidden with all the green covering the entryway.


    ¡°Guys! I found a cave!¡± I quickly wave them over.


    They hurry to me and we head inside. I throw my stuff down and plop myself onto the ground. Dae Sung and Min Su go to check out the cave while Pixie chuckles and sits next to me. She pets me and pats my back.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing good, Blondy.¡± She compliments. ¡°Keep it up and you¡¯ll be strong in no time.¡±


    Her compliment makes me smile as I nod. ¡°Thanks,¡± I reply.


    Our little conversation is interrupted by Min Su¡¯s voice. ¡°Whoa! Guys! There¡¯s like a whole bath in here!¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I question as both Pixie and I head over to him. ¡°Is it deep enough? Throw something in it!¡± I suggest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± Pixie shoots down my idea.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need to,¡± Dae Sung speaks up.


    Once we arrive at the water, I immediately understand. It¡¯s very clear. I look into it and can see all the way to the bottom. It¡¯s like the mountain made a little bath, just for us. I almost want to jump in right now.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s set up camp and then you boys can bathe. You need it,¡± Pixie states as she walks back. ¡°While you bathe, I¡¯ll go find us some dinner. I¡¯ll wash up once you boys are done.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Min Su asks.


    She turns to him and nods. ¡°Of course. Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I¡¯ll get dirty during hunting anyways.¡±


    With that said, we all agree and head back to our things to settle in for the night. Once tents are pitched and wood is gathered for the fire, I sit down to relax.


    At the same time, Pixie grabs her bow and quiver and heads out to go hunt. Immediately following, Dae Sung and Min Su throw off their clothes and head to the bath. Shrugging, I get up, undress, and decide to join them. As I walk over to the water, I watch as the older two start to slide into it.


    Dae Sung goes first. He gets down and just drops himself in. I can¡¯t help but laugh as he hops around and hoots deeply as if he was a monkey. ¡°Holy Dangu this is cold!¡±


    I hop in after. He was not kidding! My skin tightens from the cold and I find myself jumping around just like Dae Sung did.


    A few seconds later, Min Su joins us. As the water hits him, he gasps. He¡¯s not able to stand still either and bounces in place. ¡°Why is it so cold?!¡± he questions.


    I laugh at him and decide to adjust quicker by going under the water fully. Coming back up, I shake my head and sling water at the other two.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Dae Sung laughs and splashes water in my face.


    I splash him back and start to make my way over to him. He watches me as I jump at him and wrap my arm around his neck. Grabbing his shoulder, I lift myself up and try to push his head down. The older grabs my arms and pushes me off. He then grabs my head and dunks me under the water instead. Once he lets go, I come back up quickly and start coughing.


    ¡°Nice try, Ki!¡± the older mocks.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± I whine.


    ¡°Yeah it is. You¡¯re just weak,¡± Min Su teases.


    ¡°And you¡¯re just being mean!¡± I stick my tongue out at him as I splash him in the face. Min Su¡¯s eyes widen and he chases after me. I squeak and attempt to hide behind Dae Sung.


    ¡°Don''t hide behind me. You brought this on yourself,¡± the oldest states as he moves out of the way.


    The younger grabs the back of my neck and pulls me over to him. Dae Sung helps in holding me there and Min Su starts attacking my sides. I squeal, wriggle, giggle and try to squirm away but Dae Sung¡¯s grip is tight. When he joins the attack, my squeals get louder and the twitches become more violent.


    ¡°Ahh!!! Stop!!¡± I plead. ¡°We need to wash!¡± My squeaks and giggles slowly get quieter as they decide to leave my sides alone. ¡°You guys are so mean!¡± I whine.


    Both laugh and pet me. ¡°Oh you¡¯re fine,¡± Dae Sung says. ¡°Now let¡¯s get clean.¡±


    We stop wasting time and get to washing. Once Dae Sung finishes, he goes over to the younger and helps him wash. I don¡¯t feel like waiting, so once I¡¯m done, I lift myself up out of the water and head over to my tent. Quickly grabbing my clothes, I head inside to get dressed.


    When I come back out, Pixie has returned with a whole deer and four fish. She lays the fish down and starts to cut up the deer. I go into my hyungs'' tent and grab their clothes. Heading back to the bath, I set their clothes closer to them.


    ¡°Noona¡¯s back. So your clothes are here now,¡± I tell them. They nod their thanks and I hurry back.


    ¡°Have a nice bath, Blondy?¡± Pixie asks.


    ¡°Yeah. I did,¡± I answer. ¡°It¡¯s really cold though.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this fire started then. Don''t want you boys catching a cold now,¡± she states.


    I have never been able to successfully start a fire before. Usually, my hyungs do it for me. This time, Pixie teaches me how to do it and lets me try. It takes some time, but I manage to get a tiny flame started. I proudly smile as Pixie takes over to make it bigger.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Not too long after, Dae Sung and Min Su finally join us. As they sit down, Pixie hands Dae Sung and I two sticks each and a knife.


    ¡°Get whittling. We¡¯ll cook the fish tonight and eat some deer tomorrow,¡± she commands, not looking up from the deer. ¡°While you boys cook it, I¡¯m gonna bathe.¡± Pixie looks at us and flashes a smile filled with sass. She gets up and takes off her cloak. ¡°Let me know when it¡¯s done cooking.¡± We nod as she heads towards the bath.


    ¡°Who¡¯s gonna tell her when it¡¯s done?¡± Min Su wonders.


    We all look from one to the other and chuckle slightly. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors! Loser has to tell her,¡± Dae Sung suggests.


    ¡°Alright!¡± I agree. ¡°An nae myeon jin geo kai bai bo!¡± I shout and throw out scissors as the other two throw out rock. ¡°Oh come on!¡±


    Min Su laughs. ¡°A man always throws out rock!¡± he declares. I¡¯ll keep that in mind for next time.


    Dae Sung chuckles and starts whittling his stick. I huff and do the same. Once the sticks are at a point, we ready the fish on them and set them up to cook. Dae Sung then grabs our canteens and holds two out to Min Su.


    ¡°Wanna help me fill these up?¡± he asks the younger.


    Min Su nods and gets up. He then proceeds to attempt to grab the two canteens with one hand but when he can¡¯t, huffs and looks at Dae Sung for help. He chuckles and grabs it. Together, they head out to fill up all four canteens.


    Having nothing else to do, I sit and watch the fish. They aren¡¯t done yet, but they''re getting there. I¡¯m bored, so I get up and decide to bother Pixie. As I head towards the bath, I stop just far enough to see her. Thankfully, her back is to me. Her hair is parted to show her back as she washes it. Taking a step closer, I catch sight of two huge scars on her upper back. What happened?


    ¡°You had better be here to tell me that our food is done cooking,¡± her tone startles me and I put my hand to my chest. ¡°If you¡¯re here to peep, I¡¯ll castrate you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll what?¡± I stammer with a squeak.


    Pixie turns to me but sinks a bit lower so I don¡¯t see anything. ¡°State your purpose, Blondy!¡±


    ¡°The hyungs left to get water, so I was bored and wanted to talk to you!¡± I stammer as my voice breaks even more. I put my hand to my throat and continue. ¡°Also, the food is almost ready!¡±


    Pixie watches me for a couple seconds before speaking. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re lucky. If it was one of the other two, I would not have let them go so easily.¡±


    I sigh in relief as she turns back around. ¡°What was that thing you threatened me with? And what is it?¡± I ask.


    She laughs. ¡°Castrate you. To put simply, it means to cut off your manhood.¡±


    I feel my mouth gape open in shock as I instinctively put my hands over my crotch protectively. ¡°Please don''t do that. I¡¯d like to keep those.¡±


    Pixie laughs harder at my comment. ¡°I won''t actually do that. I promise,¡± she states as she starts washing her hair. ¡°Sit.¡±


    I obey and watch her curiously. From time to time, I catch glimpses of those scars on her back. They look almost symmetrical, yet very jagged and asymmetrical. ¡°Noona?¡± I start. ¡°Where did you get those scars from? They¡¯re very¡­ different.¡±


    She stops and turns her head to me. Sighing, she shakes her head. ¡°Go check on the fish. When I come out, I¡¯ll tell you about them,¡± she replies.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nod and get up. Before leaving, I watch her and notice just how sad she looks. This is probably a sensitive topic for her. I head for the fire and make sure the fish aren¡¯t burnt. Thankfully, they aren¡¯t. I smile and sit down to feel the warmth of the fire as I wait. Even if it hurts to talk about, I¡¯m glad that she¡¯ll share her story with us. Maybe talking about these kind of things helps?


    Interrupting my thoughts, Dae Sung and Min Su come back from their fresh water trip. They sit down next to each other as Min Su passes me my canteen. Not too long later, Pixie joins us and sits next to me.


    ¡°I learned a new word today,¡± I state, looking at the older two. They¡¯ll definitely have a similar reaction.


    ¡°And what was that?¡± Dae Sung asks.


    ¡°Castrate. Do you know what that means?¡± I smirk.


    They both look at me and shake their heads. ¡°No. what does it mean?¡± Dae Sung speaks again.


    I can¡¯t help but giggle as I think about it. Pixie rubs my back and I can tell she¡¯s smiling too. ¡°It means,¡± I look at Pixie for a little help in explaining. She holds up two fingers and makes a cutting motion. ¡°Oh yeah! It means to cut off guy parts!¡±


    Pixie starts laughing. When I see the look on my hyungs¡¯ faces, I do too. Min Su¡¯s mouth is wide open in shock. His eyes are completely round as he stares at the ground. He can¡¯t even speak.


    Dae Sung¡¯s eyes go wide as he leans back and then slumps over. He scoffs, just completely at a loss for words. ¡°Oh my god,¡± is all he can think to say. His eyes seem to search the ground and he shakes his head. Suddenly, he looks at me in confusion with his hands thrown up in defeat. ¡°Why did you learn this? What brought upon this word for you to learn?¡±


    Pixie laughs again as she grabs the fish and passes them out. ¡°He came to me and I thought he was peeping. So I threatened him with castration. He didn¡¯t know what it was, so I taught him,¡± she answers simply as I nod in agreement.


    The shock on their faces slowly fades away as we begin eating. ¡°Also, while I was there, I saw really big scars on Noona¡¯s back. She said she¡¯d talk about them,¡± I remind her.


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± she nods.


    ¡°Scars? Can we see them?¡± Min Su asks.


    Pixie pauses and looks at them. Then, without answering, she turns away from us, lifts her arms behind her head, and pulls her shirt off her back while still keeping her front side covered. Now, the two scars from earlier as well as more all down her lower back are showing. I didn¡¯t see those ones earlier.


    ¡°Oh wow,¡± Dae Sung can¡¯t help but vocalize his surprise.


    At that moment, Pixie slides her shirt back on and faces us again. ¡°Not very many people have seen those scars,¡± she tells us. ¡°Only those I hold dear have. You boys are special to me. So I guess it¡¯s time that I tell you my story.¡±


    We all get quiet and watch her. She takes a deep breath and prepares herself. Shaking her head, she hesitates to start. Without giving it much thought, I reach out and hold her hand to comfort her. She smiles at the gestures and begins.


    ¡°When I was a little girl, I lived in a village where half of us were human and the other half were fae. Everyday, my little brother and I would play with the human boys next door. We always had so much fun,¡± she nods. ¡°Even at a young age, my brother knew what kind of pixie he was. He was always so interested in magick and was constantly playing around with it. He was a water pixie,¡± she smiles sadly. ¡°He was also incredibly mischievous and pixie-like. Sometimes, when I¡¯d try to fly away, he¡¯d catch me in a water ball to stop me. Which really sucked ¡®cause then my wings were wet all day.¡± Pixie chuckles smally.


    ¡°How much younger than you was he?¡± Min Su asks.


    ¡°Six,¡± she answers. ¡°He¡¯d be 14 if he were alive today.¡± Pixie looks at all of us then rests her gaze on me. ¡°Just like you. You remind me a lot of him. I think you two would have been friends since you¡¯re both very similar.¡± She places her hand on my head and ruffles my hair softly. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why I feel the need to protect you so bad. Because I couldn¡¯t protect him.¡±


    Dae Sung and Min Su nod to show their understanding. I look up at her and take her hand again to hold it. She smiles and then looks at the ground.


    ¡°Word got out that the Late King got assassinated and everyone was shocked, to say the least. I had just turned 14 when the war started and my village was, not the first, but the second village to get raided. It wasn¡¯t enough time for the fae to flee. It was however, enough time for our neighbors to torment us. The boys we used to play with started throwing rocks at us and pulling our hair. Once the troops arrived, we were already too tired to try and run.¡± Pixie pauses and looks at us.


    ¡°What was your brother¡¯s name?¡± I ask cautiously.


    ¡°Xiao Yu¡­¡± she replies with a sigh. ¡°When the troops came, they didn¡¯t hesitate to kill us on site. They left a few of us alive just to torment. My brother and I were a part of that. They separated the girls and boys and made the men strip naked. To degrade them even more, they made fun of their manhood. The size, how it hung, and whether or not they became erect when they stripped down one of our women.¡± She stops again and hangs her head to the side and moves her tongue around as if holding back anger. ¡°Then the torture started and I was the lucky lady. Yay,¡± her tone is filled with sarcasm.


    No one looks at her as she talks. We all stare at the ground in silence, waiting for her to continue. Dae Sung sits with his elbows on his knees, hands together and hunched over to listen. Min Su decides to sit on the ground and rest his chin on Dae Sung¡¯s leg. Pixie runs her hand through her hair and sighs.


    ¡°They tied me up and stripped me of my clothes. The things they did to me were very,¡± she pauses, ¡°uncomfortable, especially as young as I was. When the man that I assume was in charge of these troops came over and grabbed me, I spit on him,¡± she chuckles slightly. ¡°But because of that, he grabbed my face hard and gave me this scar.¡± She points to the one on her face.


    ¡°And then things got worse. He announced to everyone that I would be made an example of. What happens when you fight back instead of letting yourself be killed.¡± She nods and continues immediately after. ¡°He turned me around and ripped off one of my wings right then. I screamed and cried so loudly but of course he didn¡¯t care. Afterwards, he threw me on the ground and had his men beat me. Then they whipped me with bamboo sticks and pissed in my wounds. Once they were done with that, the man tied me back up on a pole and ripped off my other wing.¡±


    Pixie stops and rubs her face then looks up at the sky. Dae Sung watches her but says nothing.


    ¡°They left me up there and began killing everyone else in front of me. Then they got to Xiao Yu and he didn¡¯t resist at all. He looked at me and I¡¯ll never forget what he said. ¡®It¡¯s my time to go, but I¡¯ll never forget you. You¡¯ve protected me my whole life. And for that, I thank you.¡¯ And then they killed him¡­¡± her voice gets weak as she trails off. Pixie sighs and hangs her head, letting her hair hide her face.


    Unsure of what to do, I run my thumb over her knuckles like I remember my hyungs doing to me. I feel her squeeze my hand and hear her sniffle quietly. Looking over at them, I can tell that Dae Sung and Min Su are uncomfortable. Despite that, the older rubs her back.


    After a few seconds, Pixie seems to collect herself as she runs her hands through her hair to reveal her face again. I notice that her eyes are a little red and puffy. No one dares to mention it.


    ¡°After that, they kept me tied up and threw me in the woods to die. I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t bleed to death,¡± she finishes with a sigh.


    I nod and then look at her. ¡°So that¡¯s why you don¡¯t have wings,¡± I realize.


    Pixie can¡¯t help but let out a small chuckle as she nods. ¡°It¡¯s also why I can¡¯t shrink down anymore. If a fae doesn¡¯t have wings, they can¡¯t shrink. Usually, half-fae don¡¯t have wings. They¡¯re  just smaller in height and lack at least two characteristics from a normal fae.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± I ask.


    Pixie pauses to think and looks over at the older two. ¡°Well, certain fae have characteristics that go along with the type of magick they possess. Like Dryads. They are very dark skinned, have bright yellow eyes, and green hair. A half fae, or halflings, may have the dark skin but not green hair. Others may not even be dark skinned and only have the yellow eyes. Another would be the snow fae. While they are very pale, have bright blue eyes, and snow white hair, halflings may only have one of those traits or just lack one,¡± she explains.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s so cool!¡± I smile at her. ¡°I wanna know more. What¡¯s another cool fact?¡±


    Noona chuckles and pets me. ¡°Well, fae are the only magickal creatures where both male and females can bear children,¡± she states.


    ¡°No way! That¡¯s so cool!¡± I exclaim.


    Looking over at the older two, I don¡¯t think they find that as cool as I do. They seem to be more shocked than anything. Min Su¡¯s eyes are wide as he blinks several times and his mouth hangs open. Dae Sung voices his surprise.


    ¡°What?!¡± The older looks at Pixie. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    Pixie laughs. ¡°At one point, there was a shortage of female fae. So to survive, the men were able to change their body enough to bear children. Even half fae have this ability. While today there isn¡¯t a shortage of females, we still use this. For example, if two male fae were to marry, they would still be able to reproduce," she states.


    Dae Sung scrunches his eyebrows together and nods. ¡°What¡¯s manlier than two men getting married?¡± he laughs awkwardly and looks at the ground.


    "Another example would be if a female pixie and a male faerie were to marry. Because pixies are incredibly stubborn, most of the time, the faeries will end up carrying the child. On rare occasions do pixies ever bear kids if they¡¯re with a faerie,¡± she continues.


    ¡°And what kind of occasion would that be?¡± Min Su wonders.


    Pixie pauses and thinks for a moment. ¡°Maybe if the male faerie is very dominant, more stubborn than the pixie, or of a higher stature.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool,¡± I repeat. I just can¡¯t think of anything else to say. She smiles at all of us and rubs my back.


    When I look over at Dae Sung, he seems to be thinking about something. He¡¯s biting his lip and staring at the ground with a look of worry, maybe? His arms are resting in his lap and fidgeting with his clothes. I open my mouth to ask him but Pixie speaks before I get the chance to.


    ¡°Have you boys washed your clothes yet?¡± she asks us.


    Dae Sung looks up at her. ¡°Uh, no. we don''t have any other clothes,¡± he answers.


    Pixie sighs and gets up. ¡°C¡¯mon. Get to your braies and we¡¯ll wash them in the river. They can dry overnight.¡±


    We all obey and get up. The older two are more hesitant to strip down and I laugh. By this point, I¡¯m used to it and strip down with no hesitation at all. Looking up at Pixie, I notice that she¡¯s just waiting for us.


    ¡°What about you? Aren¡¯t you gonna wash your clothes too?¡± I ask.


    Her pink eyes stare back at me. ¡°Not today. Normally I¡¯m alone when I wash my clothes,¡± she states.


    ¡°But, you won''t be alone anymore,¡± I tell her. ¡°Why can¡¯t you do it today?¡± Min Su hits my arm for some reason. ¡°Ow! What was that for?¡± I smack his chest.


    ¡°Think about it, Ki. We¡¯re in our braies. What would Pixie be in?¡± Min Su says.


    I stop to think for a moment and then turn to her. ¡°Oh, it would be awkward to see you in your braies,¡± I nod.


    Pixie rolls her eyes and chuckles. ¡°No, Blondy. Women don''t have braies. And I most certainly don¡¯t have a smock. I¡¯ve never needed one before.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Well, maybe we can buy you one?¡± I suggest.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she says. ¡°Let¡¯s go wash your clothes.¡±


    We make our way down to the river and start washing our clothes. Since I¡¯ve never washed my own clothes before, Dae Sung shows me how to do it. Min Su is being stubborn again and not wanting our help. Pixie steps in and decides to step on his clothes. I¡¯m not sure if she meant that in a helping way, but it holds his clothes still while he washes them. Min Su doesn¡¯t complain after that.


    Once all the clothes are washed, we gather them up, and head back to our camp. I lay my clothes down on the cave floor to dry out and the others do the same. By the time we¡¯ve finished, the sun is already starting to set. I peek out into the clearing to watch it and the older three follow.


    It¡¯s so pretty. The sunset stretches all across the scene. ¡°Noona. What¡¯s that line called? The one where the sun disappears under,¡± I ask her.


    ¡°It¡¯s the horizon. The sun sets on the horizon to create this beautiful light show,¡± Pixie replies with a smile.


    It really is beautiful. Red, yellow, orange, blue, and even pink light up the horizon and the sky. As the sun slowly sets, the sky gets darker and slowly little bright dots appear in the sky.


    ¡°This reminds me of back at the village. I¡¯d always watch the sun set and then stargaze,¡± I smile and chuckle some. ¡°Mom only found out when she¡¯d go to tuck us in and only found Dae Sung in his room.¡± I laugh. ¡°Then, they¡¯d both come out and find me on the ground, just staring up at the sky.¡±


    ¡°You and Dae Sung lived together?¡± Pixie asks.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dae Sung speaks up. ¡°When I was six, I became orphaned and Ki¡¯s mom took me in. I don¡¯t think he remembers that though.¡± He shakes his head and looks at me. ¡°You just remember us growing up together, don¡¯cha?¡±


    I nod and watch him. ¡°You¡¯ve always been there for me. Even if you weren¡¯t born my brother, I still say you are. We were raised by the same mom.¡± I smile at him.


    The older just stares at me. I watch him slide his tongue across his teeth and adjust his jaw. Then, he clenches his teeth and shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna talk about her. It pisses me off to think about,¡± he growls and walks away. Min Su quickly follows him to their tent.


    My surprise gets the best of me and I accidentally vocalize it with a scoff. What does he mean by that? I decide to follow them despite Pixie¡¯s protest not to.


    ¡°Hyung! What do you mean it pisses you off? Why does thinking about my mom piss you off?!¡± I demand.


    He comes out and sizes me up. His eyes look me up and down as I¡¯ve never seen him so mad before. Min Su comes out behind him and gets in between us.


    ¡°What are you hiding from us? What gives you the right to say that?¡± I press.


    Dae Sung moves past Min Su and pushes me against the wall. ¡°Because she was my mom too!¡± he shouts. ¡°You don¡¯t think it doesn¡¯t piss me off that I couldn¡¯t do anything to protect her?! She raised me too!¡± He turns around and drops down with his arms covering his head. Quickly, he stands back up and turns to me. ¡°You don¡¯t have any idea the pain I went through to protect you!¡± He presses his finger into my chest. ¡°That night was just as painful to me as it was you¡­¡±


    I watch him as he walks to the other side of the cave. Min Su goes over to him and grabs his hand to try and calm him down. Dae Sung tosses his hand aside and leans on the wall. It might be a bad idea, but I think I¡¯ll make him more mad. I walk over to him and get in his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one that said we couldn¡¯t do anything! What secrets are you keeping?!¡± I demand.


    Dae Sung pushes me away from him hard and I stumble back. ¡°I said we couldn¡¯t do anything because it was true! We were weak! Why do you think I built up my muscles like I did?! I worked hard every day with her on my mind! What if I had been stronger?!¡± He stares me down and then picks up some rocks and flings them as hard as he can out of the cave. ¡°Damn it, Ki!! Why don¡¯t you understand?!¡± He paces around the cave and kicks some debris as he does so. I watch him quietly.


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t talk to me! You won''t even tell me that you¡¯re hiding things from me!!¡± I shout back at him.  "Did you even see what happened?¡± I continue. ¡°You aren¡¯t the one who has nightmares every night about that night!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t talk to you about it because I¡¯m scared!¡± Dae Sung confesses. ¡°I saw everything happen so clearly¡­ To this day, I still have nightmares¡­¡± he speaks chillingly calmly as his eyes stare into me. He shakes his head and sits down. Taking a deep breath, he continues. ¡°Min Su was the only one who knew about them because he sleeps next to me every night. They don¡¯t go away just because I¡¯m with someone else. No matter how hard I try to make them go away, they just won¡¯t¡­¡± His voice cracks on the last word as I see tears well up in his eyes. He shakes his head and tries to keep the tears from spilling over.


    The younger approaches Dae Sung cautiously and crouches down in front of him. He looks up at Min Su as the younger moves the sunset colored hair out of Dae Sung¡¯s eyes and caresses his face. Closing his eyes, the older takes a deep breath and leans into Min Su¡¯s touch.


    ¡°Maybe it would help both of you to talk about this kind of stuff.¡± Min Su looks between us. ¡°Both of you have nightmares about the same day and the same person. Talk about it.¡± He says.


    ¡°It does help. I know from experience,¡± Pixie adds. ¡°You should all talk about that day. Even if you aren¡¯t bothered by nightmares, it can still take its toll on you in a different way. You boys went through something that no one your age should ever have to go through. Talk about it.¡± We all look at her and I nod.


    ¡°And as for secrets,¡± Dae Sung speaks up again but hesitates to continue. He squints at me then looks away and shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m just scared to talk about it.¡±


    I stay quiet for a while as I think of what to say. ¡°Hyung, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I finally say.


    Dae Sung looks up at me and shakes his head. ¡°No. Don¡¯t be. I shouldn¡¯t have yelled at you or gotten physical with you.¡± He sighs and hides his head in his arms. Min Su sits down and rubs his leg.


    I make my way over to them slowly and shake my head. ¡°So you yelled and pushed me. So what? That doesn¡¯t make you any less my brother.¡± He looks up at me again. ¡°All I care about is knowing, that, you¡¯ll be okay,¡± I nod.


    He chuckles half-heartedly and shakes his head. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I should be saying that to you. I should be making sure you¡¯re okay. I¡¯m the oldest here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Just because you¡¯re the oldest doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t have problems of your own,¡± I sit down next to him and lean on him.


    Dae Sung puts his arm around me and pulls me close. I turn around and crawl over his lap to give him a hug. He wraps both arms around me and hugs me tightly while patting my back. I grunt when he squeezes me a bit too hard and he lets me go. Then, he stares up at the ceiling of the cave and rubs his face.


    ¡°There¡¯s obviously something big that you haven¡¯t talked to me about yet.¡± I point out.


    The older sighs and hides his face in his arms. When he comes back up, he looks at me and takes a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ve never, uh, looked at girls romantically before. I¡¯ve never wanted a girlfriend.¡± he confesses.


    Looking at him, I tilt my head to the side and scrunch my face up in confusion. ¡°What? What do you mean by that?¡± I ask.


    He pauses to think for a moment. ¡°Girls aren¡¯t attractive to me,¡± he chuckles awkwardly. ¡°I like men,¡± he clarifies. Look of worry and embarrassment appear on his face as he curls up with his arms squished between his legs. He rests his face on his knees.


    I nod and rub his back. ¡°I mean, that¡¯s cool too. Whatever makes you happy, Hyung,¡± I smile at him and he flashes one back.  Shifting his position to have one leg out in front of him and the other bent with his arm resting on the knee, he looks at Pixie as she sits with us.


    ¡°Sweetheart, I¡¯m not going to judge you. I¡¯ve seen many male fae marry each other and it¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of,¡± she smiles at him as well and plays with his hair. ¡°You do whatever makes you happy.¡±


    Dae Sung¡¯s smile becomes even bigger as he glances between all of us. When his eyes rest on Min Su, they both smile so wide that their eyes disappear and they chuckle. The older hangs his head and runs his hand through his hair, still smiling.


    Min Su hits his chest lightly and laughs. The older looks up at him and grabs his arm. Then, he pulls him over and the younger topples on top of him. Both laugh and hug each other tightly. When they sit up, Min Su continues to hug him and rests his head on his chest.


    ¡°Since we didn¡¯t get to it tonight, let¡¯s all head to bed and talk another time,¡± Pixie says. ¡°I still think it¡¯s a good idea to talk about that night some other day though.¡±


    Agreeing with nods, we all get up and head to our tents. The next morning starts with Dae Sung and I arguing over who¡¯s green tunic is who¡¯s. I point out to him that mine is a darker green and that his looks more brown than green before he finally gives in.


    I sigh in relief as I get dressed. Smiling, I remember that today is a rest day. Finally.

 Chapter 6 - The Secret

    Seven days have passed since our rest day and we¡¯ve finally stumbled onto a market town. From the looks of it, everyone is human, or at least doesn¡¯t show signs of magick. We¡¯re here only for clothes and essentials is what Pixie told me. Does that include bread? I¡¯m really wanting bread again.


    As we walk into the town, I stop and look up, closing my eyes and letting the sun seep into my clothes. With the air heavy enough to make it hard to breathe and the sun beating down on us to make me feel hot and sticky, Snowfall just seems so far away.


    ¡°You good there, Blondy?¡± Pixie¡¯s words pull me out of my thoughts as I turn to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot,¡± I tell her with a chuckle.


    She scoffs and pets me, messing up my already sticky hair. ¡°I know. It is the middle of the Sunny season,¡± she points out.


    I roll my eyes and nod mockingly. I know it¡¯s Sunny season. That¡¯s why Dae Sung and I are covered in sweat from just being in the sun. Training first thing in the morning makes it even worse. I huff and try to get my hair to stop sticking up but that¡¯s proving to be harder than I thought.


    While I look like a complete mess, the hair sticking to his forehead and cheekbones somehow makes Dae Sung look more manly. Who am I kidding? Everything about him is more manly. His muscles are bigger. He¡¯s taller than me and looks like he¡¯ll be taller than Min Su too in no time. His voice even seems to be getting deeper every day. I hope to be like him someday.


    I decide to watch him as he walks off to talk to a smaller, pretty-looking boy and attempt to flirt. The other male looks up at him in awe as Dae Sung talks. While moving his hair aside, Dae Sung goes to lean on a cart that is next to him. Apparently he didn¡¯t see that it had wheels since he almost falls over when it moves under him. The boy giggles and steadies Dae Sung by putting his hands on the older¡¯s shoulders.


    At that moment, Min Su decides to intervene and pulls our hyung away by the ear. Even though I¡¯m not close enough to hear them, I can see Dae Sung saying ¡®ow¡¯ several times before Min Su lets him go. He faces the older male and snaps at him before crossing his arms carefully, clearly not happy about something.


    Instead of watching them argue, I decide to follow Pixie to a nearby clothing shop. From the looks of it, I can only assume that it¡¯s for girls only.


    ¡°What are you gonna get, Noona?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Just a smock. That¡¯s what I came here for,¡± she states.


    Shrugging, I turn my attention to the dresses and look through them. All of them are roughly the same color with only a few shades that make them different. They¡¯re all light in color possibly to make them easier to dye. I find one that feels really soft and hold it up. ¡°Noona. What about this pink one?¡± I wonder.


    Pixie looks at it and scrunches her nose. Shaking her head, she decides on a white one and shows it to me. ¡°White is easier to dye anyways. Pink can make it harder to get the right color,¡± she states and heads off to buy it. Before she can, the shop owner stops her and looks her up and down.


    ¡°You look like a woman that could use some support,¡± the lady says.


    I¡¯m taken aback by the sudden statement. What the hell does that mean?


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Pixie¡¯s question is nicer than mine with obvious confusion written all over her face.


    The lady¡¯s eyes dart up and down on Pixie. Before I have time to figure out where she¡¯s looking, the shop owner walks away.


    I turn to Pixie and furrow my eyebrows in confusion. ¡°What is going on?¡± I ask.


    Pixie shrugs and throws a hand up. ¡°Hell if I know,¡± she states as she waits for the owner to come back. When she does, the lady holds out a piece of clothing for Pixie to take.


    ¡°Look at it,¡± she insists.


    When Pixie takes it, she lets it fall open and examines it. It just looks like a half-lengthed shirt with the chest stretched out.


    ¡°And if you don¡¯t like the color, I can dye it for you! Free of charge!¡± the owner states. ¡°Come back here and you can try it on. Come on! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Judging from the look on Pixie¡¯s face, I don''t think she wants to. She¡¯s hesitant and seems tense. Eventually, she gives in to the lady¡¯s persistency and hands me her cloak to disappear into the shop. While I wait for her to come back out, I put on her cloak and look around to see what shops are nearby.


    After a few minutes, the sound of shuffling feet brings my attention back to the shop in front of me. The owner is making her way over in my direction with a piece of black clothing in one hand and seemingly dragging someone behind her with the other.


    As it turns out, that person is Pixie and that piece of clothing is Pixie¡¯s shirt. The lady pulls her out from behind her to stand in front of a mirror. Pixie looks in the mirror to see how the piece looks on her.


    ¡°What do you think, boy?¡± the owner questions.


    ¡°Me?¡± I ask in confusion but look at Pixie anyway.


    When our eyes meet, she looks away quickly. I notice her cheeks color as she avoids my gaze. Thinking that she must be embarrassed, I can¡¯t help but smile a little.


    Looking over the item of clothing, I notice how her chest seems to be more supported by it. I guess that¡¯s what the lady was talking about. The shirt hugs her form to show off her stomach which is toned to match her arms. Her arms are completely showing as the sleeves are just two thin cloths connecting behind her neck. Pixie moves her arms to cover her stomach and clears her throat. She looks nice.


    ¡°Quit staring before I punch you,¡± Pixie threatens. Her tone gets softer when she speaks again. ¡°Does it look okay?¡± she asks.


    I nod quickly and answer without hesitation. ¡°Yes! You look great!¡±


    Pixie turns to the lady and nods. ¡°Alright I¡¯ll take it,¡± she concludes. ¡°And the free dye job.¡± She half smirks as the owner nods and takes her back to get changed.


    As she disappears again, I turn around and let out a breath I didn¡¯t realize I was holding. I place my hand over my chest to find my heart beating fast for some reason. Deciding to not try and figure out why, I take a deep breath and use this time to calm down. After all, it was just Pixie. Why would my heart race just because of her? She was really exposed though. Shaking the thought away, I turn back around and look at the ground.


    Shortly after, Pixie comes back and hands the two garments over to the owner. ¡°What color would you like them, deary?¡± the lady asks.


    ¡°Black if you can,¡± Pixie replies.


    The lady nods and tells us to come back the next day to pick them up. Pixie pats my back and puts the hood of the cloak up to cover my head. I¡¯m a little confused but when I look at a shop that we¡¯re passing by, I understand why. On the entrance door, there¡¯s a wanted poster with my name written in big letters and a picture that resembles me. Underneath my name is smaller letters that I can¡¯t read.


    ¡°Do you wanna look around more? Or should we head out to find a place to camp?¡± Pixie asks.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find camp,¡± I answer. ¡°I¡¯d rather not be here too long.¡± She nods and we head off to find the other two first.


    When we do find them, Min Su is leaning with his back against a tree and the older standing in front of him. Dae Sung¡¯s arm is resting next to the younger¡¯s head against the same tree as he attempts to lean over Min Su, despite the fact that the younger is taller.


    As we near, we must have startled them since Dae Sung quickly moves to stand next to the tree and begins fixing his hair. Min Su dusts off his clothes, even though there isn¡¯t any on him, before glancing at the older and hitting his chest. I raise my eyebrow at the odd response but decide not to say anything.


    ¡°Whatever you two were doing, I don¡¯t care. Let¡¯s just go find a place to set up camp,¡± Pixie speaks while raising an eyebrow.


    They both nod quickly and follow us back into the forest so that we can stay hidden. While walking around, we find a small clearing only big enough for a fire and decide to settle there. Pixie tells us to make our tents around the area.


    Since we¡¯re still in the forest, it¡¯s harder to pitch the tents evenly. Well, it is for me anyway. After moving all the sticks out from where the tent will sit, we set them aside to use to start the fire later. With Pixie¡¯s help, and some struggling on my end, we get everything set up and work on getting the fire started.


    Dae Sung looks down at the small pile of sticks that we already collected and smiles. ¡°Min Su and I can head out and grab some more firewood if you two do the setup,¡± he suggests.


    Pixie nods and answers for me, ¡°Alright.¡±


    The older grabs Min Su¡¯s hand and leads him out into the forest. I watch them go before turning to Pixie and grabbing a stick.


    ¡°Don¡¯t they seem a bit weird to you?¡± I ask.


    She glances at me. ¡°No. Elaborate,¡± when she sees my confused look, she continues. ¡°As in, explain your thinking.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well.¡± I start and wave the stick around. ¡°They¡¯ve been doing everything together, holding hands, hugging a lot, and just being all touchy. And it¡¯s just weird.¡±


    Pixie takes the stick that I was waving around away and I pout. She points it at me. ¡°It¡¯s called being affectionate. And I don¡¯t find that weird. It actually seems quite normal from what I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    I furrow my brows and squint at her. ¡°Since when?¡± I challenge.


    ¡°Ever since I¡¯ve been here. It¡¯s possible that they¡¯ve always been like this and you¡¯re just now noticing,¡± she suggests.


    I shake my head in protest. ¡°No. That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±


    Pixie scoffs and rolls her eyes. ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Okay, it does for Dae Sung hyung since he¡¯s always been affectionate. But it doesn¡¯t for Min Su hyung!¡± I correct. ¡°He hates affection. I remember, like two years ago, Dae Sung hyung tried to kiss his cheek and he nearly fell over trying to avoid it.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Pixie laughs. ¡°Oh really?¡± What kind of question is that? Yes really. ¡°I saw you do the exact same thing not but three days ago,¡± she points out.


    ¡°That is not the point!¡± I exclaim. ¡°We are talking about Dae Sung and Min Su hyung!¡±


    Pixie laughs at my protest and I roll my eyes. I huff loudly to try and get my point across. She finally stops laughing and looks at me. ¡°Alright. Tell me more then. You have known them longer than I have,¡± she smiles and starts on the fire set up.


    Nodding, I smile and adjust to be sitting on the ground. ¡°So, Dae Sung hyung has always loved to give us affection, even when we were in the village. He¡¯d sometimes run up to me, kiss my cheek suddenly, and then just run off! He also likes to hug us from behind and just not let go.¡± Leaning back, I chuckle and smile at the memories.


    ¡°And why aren¡¯t you like that? You two grew up in the same house,¡± Pixie questions.


    Looking up at the sky, I take a moment to think about the answer. ¡°Maybe because he was orphaned. It¡¯s possible that he has the mindset of ¡®I need to let them know how much I love them¡¯ because of that,¡± I nod but keep thinking.


    ¡°That¡¯s very possible,¡± Pixie agrees and looks at me. ¡°Keep thinking, observing, and keep trying to understand things,¡± she smiles and pats my leg.


    Feeling her warm hand on my leg suddenly makes me shiver. The feeling is odd and I¡¯m not sure why. I watch as she turns back to the sticks and then I take a deep breath. Why am I being so weird? Shaking my head, I prop one leg up and rest my arm on it.


    ¡°Dae Sung hyung likes to tease us too. I think that¡¯s the fun part is for him. It¡¯s almost like a game but he also gets to show he cares through it,¡± I conclude with a nod.


    ¡°And what about Min Su?¡± Pixie asks.


    My eyes search the ground as I think of an answer. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. I just remember him never liking being touched. Ever,¡± I state.


    Pixie finishes the set up as I finish my statement. Nodding, she dusts off her hands and stands up. ¡°Like I said earlier, keep thinking,¡± she smiles.


    I nod in reply. Startled when I hear footsteps, I quickly stand up. To my relief, it¡¯s just Dae Sung and Min Su. They hold up their bundles proudly and smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start a fire!¡± Dae Sung sings the last word and sets down his bundle. Min Su follows and sets his down as well.


    Watching them, I step back and let the oldest two start the fire. Min Su does the same and goes to his tent. Coming back out with his bag, he kneels down and starts to rummage through it. One by one, he lays out the cooking tools, eating tools, and the food.


    By the time Min Su has everything laid out, the fire is started. Dae Sung heads over to him and grabs the cooking tools. He ruffles the younger¡¯s hair, squeezes his arm, and smiles. Min Su shakes his head as if to shake off the older''s hand and grabs the food. They both head to the fire and get ready to cook.


    Pixie steps back and stands next to me. I cross my arms and watch the other two. Stealing a glance at her, I notice that Pixie is smiling at me and hear her chuckle. She rubs my back and heads to our tent. Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, I look over at the older two.


    Dae Sung is facing Min Su with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. He says something to the younger and his smile gets bigger and open-mouthed, clearly proud of what he¡¯s just said. When Min Su just shakes his head and looks at the ground, I hear the older laugh.


    Hearing Dae Sung¡¯s laugh, Min Su smiles. He nods his head and looks at the older. When Dae Sung speaks again, Min Su rolls his eyes and hits the older¡¯s chest.


    Laughing even more, Dae Sung leans away from the hit and grabs Min Su¡¯s arm. He quickly pulls him closer and hugs him from behind.


    Min Su grimaces slightly and wiggles around. As the older begins to speak, he stops wiggling and listens. Nodding, the younger says something back, making Dae Sung smile.


    Almost immediately following, Dae Sung kisses Min Su¡¯s cheek and a small shout of disapproval leaves the younger¡¯s mouth. The older laughs and pushes Min Su towards their tent. He goes inside with Dae Sung right behind him.


    This whole day has just been strange. First Pixie and now this. I need answers soon. Sighing, I head to my tent and sit in the entryway.


    ¡°Hey, Blondy,¡± Pixie greets.


    I wave to her. ¡°Hey, Noona,¡± I huff and lay with my upper body in the tent. Pixie chuckles and leans over my head from the side.


    Tilting her head and sitting next to me, she asks, ¡°You good there?¡±


    Shrugging, I look up at her. ¡°Today has just been strange,¡± I confess. ¡°I just wanna know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Pixie smiles and plays with my hair. I close my eyes and relax at the comforting gesture. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out soon,¡± she comforts.


    I nod and smile, enjoying the moment. When I open my eyes back up, Pixie is no longer in the tent. I sit up and see the other three sitting by the fire. The smell of food makes me think I must have dozed off. Standing up, I take a couple of steps to stand next to Dae Sung. He looks at me and smiles.


    ¡°Have a nice nap?¡± the older asks while handing me my food.


    Taking it, I nod and sit down to begin eating. No one talks for the rest of the time eating. Dae Sung feeds Min Su quietly and then starts cleaning up. I decide to help.


    Once camp is cleaned up, I lean against a tree and observe my surroundings. Min Su walks over to Dae Sung and whispers something in his ear. He¡¯s standing very close to the older. During that moment, the younger places a hand on Dae Sung¡¯s shoulder. Whatever Min Su said makes the older smile and instinctively grab at the younger¡¯s wrist. As he pulls away, the younger runs his hand down Dae Sung¡¯s chest and smiles at him. While returning the smile, Dae Sung ruffles the younger¡¯s hair and pulls him away. After just a few steps, they disappear into their tent.


    I look up and sigh. Moonlight seeps through the gaps in the leaves to barely light the area around me. With the fire put out, it''s the only source of light I have. I puff out my cheeks in disappointment as I wish I could see the stars. Stargazing has been my favorite thing to do ever since I was little. It¡¯s the best thing about the night.


    ¡°You gonna come to bed, kiddo?¡± Pixie¡¯s voice snaps my attention away from my thoughts.


    I look at her and shake my head. ¡°I¡¯m not tired,¡± I tell her.


    She smiles. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have had that nap,¡± she scolds gently.


    Nodding, I look back up at the trees as the leaves move with the wind. ¡°The breeze is nice on a Sunny Season night,¡± I state. When she doesn¡¯t respond, I look back at Pixie. She¡¯s standing with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. ¡°What?¡± I ask.


    ¡°You¡¯ve matured,¡± Pixie replies. ¡°I can tell by the way you speak.¡± Before I can even begin to think of a response, she disappears into our tent and comes back out holding my bow. She hands it to me and speaks again. ¡°Try to draw it back. It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    I take it and look at her. ¡°Um, alright,¡± I respond while standing up straight. Holding it out in front of me, I grab the bowstring with two fingers and pull. I bring it all the way back to my cheek and smile widely. Returning the bow to its original form, I turn to Pixie in excitement. The look on her face says it all.


    ¡°I knew you could do it,¡± she states proudly.


    Excitement taking over me, I can¡¯t help but jump around. I did it! No more arm exercises for me! I jump up and punch the air in celebration.


    Pixie chuckles. ¡°Alright. Come on. Let¡¯s get some rest before you have to start training.¡±


    I nod quickly and head to our tent. Once inside, I remove my shirt and glance at Pixie. She looks at me and pats my arm.


    ¡°Look at this muscle!¡± she points out. ¡°You¡¯re getting stronger!¡± Pixie chuckles and lays down, already ready for the night.


    Smiling, I finish readying myself for the night and lay next to her. Normally, I would lay on her chest and get comfortable. But for some reason, tonight, I can¡¯t do that. Instead, I turn away from her and lay on my arms. The spot on my arm where she touched tingles slightly. I decide to ignore it. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe tomorrow I won''t have these weird feelings.


    ¡°Goodnight, Blondy,¡± Pixie says.


    ¡°Goodnight, Noona,¡± I answer.


    When morning arrives, training starts immediately. Dae Sung learns a new fighting technique and spars with Pixie. She even includes Min Su today by giving him a knife and telling to practice using it with his left hand. I finally learn how to shoot an arrow, which, turns out, is a lot harder than using a slingshot. To nock the arrow, drawback, aim, and shoot requires a lot of concentration. Being able to shoot accurately and swiftly is a whole other story. I don''t know how Pixie does it.


    By midday, we pack up camp and head back into town. Pixie gives me her cloak again so that I can stay hidden before going to the little shop to pick up her clothing.


    During that time, I put the hood of the cloak up and look around for the shop that had the wanted posted of me on it. When I find it, I grab it, roll it up, and put it in my bag. After, the four of us look around for any other supplies that we may need.


    ¡°Can we buy bread?¡± I ask while looking at the older three.


    Dae Sung shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± he answers.


    ¡°Wait. No,¡± Min Su interjects. ¡°We don¡¯t wanna spoil him.¡± I roll my eyes and cross my arms. ¡°Do you think that you deserve bread today?¡±


    Pixie laughs and pats Min Su¡¯s back. ¡°Just come to a decision.¡±


    ¡°I so deserve bread today!¡± I declare.


    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Min Su challenges.


    I huff. ¡°Because I learned how to shoot the bow today! And I think that deserves some celebratory bread,¡± I argue.


    Before Min Su can snap back, Dae Sung waves his hand to dismiss the conversation. ¡°We can get bread. I wouldn¡¯t mind some either,¡± he states.


    ¡°Glad that¡¯s settled,¡± Pixie comments as she walks to the nearest bread stall and buys two loaves. ¡°There. Now shut up about it and let¡¯s travel.¡± She hands me her new clothing pieces and gives Min Su the bread. Smart. I probably would¡¯ve eaten it.


    Putting her clothes away, I sling my bag over my shoulder and follow behind everyone. We get far enough away to where I can¡¯t see the market anymore before I decide to put my hood back down. Dae Sung walks next to Min Su and is seemingly teasing him about something. To mock him further, the older does a little dance. Min Su responds by hitting his arm.


    ¡°Oh what was that?¡± Dae Sung teases. ¡°You can¡¯t scare anyone away with a girly punch like that!¡±


    Min Su sticks his tongue out at the older and punches his arm again.


    ¡°Girly punch!¡± Dae Sung repeats, earning another punch from the younger. ¡°Why are your punches so girly? I thought you were a man!¡± he continues to mock.


    At that moment, Pixie turns around and punches him hard in the arm. Dae Sung gasps and grabs his arm. ¡°What was that about girly punches?¡± she smirks and pets Min Su before turning back around.


    ¡°Oh my Loki that hurts!¡± Dae Sung exclaims and grunts in pain. ¡°I hate you.¡±


    I can¡¯t help but laugh as he did deserve that. Dae Sung glares at me and Min Su pushes him gently.


    ¡°And just because I don''t have the strength to punch hard right now doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not intimidating,¡± Min Su argues. Is this what they were talking about?


    Dae Sung finally recovers from Pixie¡¯s punch and looks at the younger. ¡°Are you now?¡± he challenges. ¡°I don''t think you are.¡±


    Clearly having had enough of the older¡¯s teasing, Min Su grabs a fistful of Dae Sung¡¯s tunic and gets in his face. The younger glares at him in an attempt to intimidate the other. By the look on the older¡¯s face, it doesn¡¯t seem to be working. Instead, he¡¯s staring back at him with a smirk across his face and lands a kiss on the younger¡¯s nose.


    ¡°So intimidating,¡± Dae Sung teases again.


    Min Su¡¯s cheeks start to color as he continues to stare at the older. Dae Sung¡¯s smirk gets bigger and he winks at the younger. Now is not the time to get flirty. I decide to intervene.


    ¡°Okay. Stop. What is going on?¡± I step in the middle of them and glance between the two of them. Pixie also stops and watches us. ¡°Why are you two so touchy? Like, I get Dae Sung hyung but what¡¯s up with you?¡± I look at Min Su. ¡°What¡¯s your excuse?¡±


    Dae Sung looks at me and then to Min Su. If I wasn¡¯t paying attention, I probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed the little nod that the younger gives to Dae Sung. When he does, the older takes a deep breath and crosses his arms.


    ¡°Alright fine,¡± Dae Sung starts. I cross my arms and wait for his answer. He lets out a breath and nods. ¡°Min Su and I have been together since Snowfall when we had the celebration of his birth,¡± he confesses.


    I scoff in surprise. ¡°And you didn¡¯t think it was a good idea to tell me this?¡±


    ¡°We were just worried about what you¡¯d think. I hadn¡¯t exactly told you that I like men yet,¡± Dae Sung argues.


    I look at him as if that was the stupidest thing he¡¯s ever said and throw my arms up to get my point across. Pixie chuckles at the gesture. ¡°I¡¯m your little brother!¡± I exclaim.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we didn¡¯t tell you,¡± Min Su speaks quietly and I turn to him. ¡°We thought you might get disgusted and leave us.¡± Our eyes lock as he continues. ¡°And that terrified us since you were the only family we had left.¡±


    I nod in understanding but rub my face in frustration. Sighing, I reply, ¡°Look, I¡¯m happy for you two. I¡¯m not gonna leave you. It¡¯s just really annoying when I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on.¡± I chuckle to lighten the mood.


    Dae Sung chuckles as well and nods. ¡°Glad to know we can keep you,¡± he jokes and hits my arm.


    ¡°Now that we finally know what¡¯s going on between you two, let¡¯s keep moving,¡± Pixie speaks up. ¡°We have to find a place for camp before sunset.¡±


    Everyone nods in response and continues walking. Running up from behind Min Su, I trap him in a hug. He wiggles to try to escape and I laugh. After I let him go, he huffs and I push him gently. As if to get revenge, he hits my chest then pushes me right into Dae Sung. As we both fall over, Min Su laughs.


    ¡°Rude!¡± I declare as I get back up. After I help Dae Sung up, we quickly catch back up with Pixie and continue traveling. Remembering that I¡¯m still wearing her cloak, I call out to her. ¡°Oh! Noona!¡±


    She hums in response.


    ¡°Do you want your cloak back?¡± I ask.


    Pixie waves her hand in dismissal. ¡°Keep it. You seem to need it more than I do,¡± she answers.

 Chapter 7 - What?

    Two days have passed since we left the market town and we stumble upon a cave with a river flowing a small walk away. Pixie suggests that we wash our braies while we have the chance since we didn¡¯t get to last time. She¡¯ll also wash her clothes today now that she has other clothes to wear. She says that washing them before mealtime gives them more time to dry out.


    Once we get camp set up, I hand Pixie my bag so she can get changed. ¡°You boys gets ready too so we can wash them as soon as possible,¡± she says before disappearing into our tent.


    Without hesitation, Dae Sung drops his pants and braies in one swift motion and laughs. Min Su looks at him in confusion with his hand up and head tilted slightly to prove that point. The older steps out of his clothes, separates them, then puts his pants back on. Afterward, he decides to throw his braies at Min Su and laugh mischievously.


    Min Su tries to slap them away. ¡°Ew! Dae Sung!¡± he protests. ¡°Don¡¯t throw your dirty braies at me!¡±


    Dae Sung laughs and picks them back up. ¡°Oh please. You¡¯ve touched dirtier things of mine,¡± he remarks while smirking.


    ¡°Oh my Loki. Gross,¡± I speak up. ¡°I did not need to know that.¡±


    While Dae Sung laughs, Min Su rolls his eyes and goes to their tent to change. Since my newly claimed cloak still drags the ground, I can remove my braies without going to my tent. After tossing them aside, I slide my pants back on and just look at the ground. I kick some dirt up and wait for the other two to finish changing. While doing so, I notice that my boots have holes in them. Maybe that¡¯s why my feet hurt all the time.


    After a few more seconds, I hear the rustle of a tent and then another one follows a second later.


    ¡°Well don''t you look more like a woman!¡± I hear Dae Sung announce. ¡°Not attractive at all!¡± He laughs which is then followed by a gasp. ¡°Ow!¡± I assume Pixie punched him. ¡°Okay, I deserved that.¡±


    Agreeing, I nod and chuckle. When I hear Min Su laugh as well, I decide to look up. The moment I do, I spot Pixie in her smock. It¡¯s not quite black like she had wanted, more of a dark brown, but it still looks nice on her. The sleeves are long and hang off her shoulders, making the neckline almost straight and low on her chest. As my eyes travel down, I notice how it hugs her torso before flaring out at her waist. The smock goes all the way down to just past her knees.


    ¡°Does it look alright?¡± Pixie asks. She grabs at the sides of her gown and bunches it up in her hands to reveal more of her legs. As she examines her figure, I can¡¯t help but to as well. Her legs look very nice.


    Oh. Oh no. Wait. No. I feel my face heat up as I quickly look away from her. Right now, I¡¯m very glad the cloak covers me up fully as I feel a problem arising. I hold it a bit tighter as the heat travels from my face down to the rest of my body.


    ¡°Are you okay, Blondy?¡± she wonders.


    I nod quickly and search the ground for something to say. ¡°Uh, I have to go. I¡¯ll be back,¡± I answer before hurrying off to the treeline and hiding behind a tree.


    Once there, I lean against it and take a shaky breath. What is happening to me? I hide my face and slide down the tree to sit. At the same moment, Dae Sung and Min Su walk around to stand in front of me.


    ¡°Are you alright, Ki?¡± Min Su asks.


    I shake my head. ¡°No. I don''t know what¡¯s going on,¡± I confess.


    ¡°Well, tell us what¡¯s been happening,¡± Dae Sung suggest. ¡°We can figure this out together.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Min Su adds. ¡°We¡¯re here for you.¡±


    Looking up at them, I nod. ¡°It¡¯s just that, every time I look at Pixie, it¡¯s like I get a weird feeling in my stomach. Almost like I¡¯m nauseous, but not in a bad way? And whenever she touches my arm or anywhere, my skin crawls or feels like it¡¯s on fire. And if I stare at her for too long, it¡¯s like I can¡¯t breathe,¡± I pause to catch my breath. ¡°And then like right now,¡± I look up at them, not sure what to say. ¡°She just looks really pretty in her smock and I don¡¯t know how to deal with that. Like, holy Dangu, her legs look amazing.¡±


    The older two exchange looks before chuckling. ¡°So the time has finally come,¡± the older says.


    ¡°You¡¯re becoming a man!¡± Min Su states.


    ¡°Can you please explain it a bit better than that?¡± I ask.


    Dae Sung crosses his arms and thinks before speaking. ¡°Well, uh, how do I explain this?¡± He looks at the younger for help.


    ¡°Your body is starting to change and you¡¯re beginning to mature in more ways than one,¡± Min Su helps. ¡°And you¡¯re starting to see people differently than you did before.¡±


    ¡°Hence, why that thing with Pixie happened,¡± Dae Sung adds.


    I rub my face and shake my head. ¡°I don''t wanna see Noona differently. This is strange and I don''t like it!¡± I complain.¡±What about the warmth and my stomach feelings?¡±


    ¡°Sexual arousal,¡± the younger puts plainly. ¡°It¡¯s your body¡¯s way of reacting to someone you think is attractive. It is awkward, yes, but don''t feel ashamed of it.¡± He crouches down in front of me and smiles. ¡°It¡¯s natural and means that you¡¯re maturing.¡±


    I look at him and sigh. Glancing between them, I ask, ¡°did you guys have to go through this too?¡±


    They both nod as Pixie calls out to us from the cave entrance. Dae Sung focuses his attention on her by squinting and waves.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t let her come over here!¡± I plead. ¡°I can not look at her right now.¡±


    The older shouts back to her. ¡°One second!¡±


    Min Su chuckles and stands back up, then turns his attention to Dae Sung. ¡°Why don''t you go with Pixie to wash our clothes. I¡¯m not much help with my arm like this so I can stay here with Ki and help him instead,¡± he suggests.


    The older nods in thought. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll let her know,¡± he replies before heading back to the cave.


    Min Su smiles at me and crosses his arms as best he can while waiting. Turning his head in the direction of the oldest two, he waves and smiles. He watches them go before bringing his attention back to me.


    ¡°Alright. Come on,¡± he says while holding a hand out to me. ¡°They¡¯re gone now. Let¡¯s go to my tent and talk about this.¡±


    I take his hand and he helps me up. Quickly heading back to the cave, I go inside the tent and sit down. Min Su does the same before speaking again.


    ¡°I know that it¡¯s awkward and not pleasant right now because I¡¯ve been through it too, but trust me when I say that it gets easier,¡± he comforts.


    I nod. ¡°What was it like for you?¡±


    Min Su looks up and sighs in thought. ¡°Well, my, uh, I guess transition is what we¡¯ll call it, started about four moons after our village raid. And it was a nightmare,¡± he answers.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better,¡± I mutter.


    The other chuckles at my comment and pets me. ¡°It was just the beginning that was terrible though. It got better after a while,¡± he states. After changing his position to sit cross legged, he continues. ¡°To explain why though, it was very different than anything I had ever experienced before. Everything and everyone aroused me.¡± While chuckling, he pauses and runs his hand through his hair. ¡°If I were to see a man chopping wood, bam! A girl bumped into me, bam! I saw Dae Sung working out, bam!¡± He slaps his knuckles on his leg every time he says ¡®bam¡¯ to get his point across. ¡°Any time a man or woman gave me any kind of attention or affection, I became aroused. It became a huge problem for me.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I start and look at him. ¡°Is that when you realized you liked Hyung?¡±


    Min Su shakes his head. ¡°No. I knew that I had liked him way before that. That was just the first time my body responded to him that way,¡± he answers.


    I nod thoughtfully. ¡°When did you start liking him?¡±


    The other sighs in thought and leans back. ¡°Back at the village. One of the other kids was being mean to me ¡®cause I was the new kid and pushed me down. Then Dae Sung came over and helped me up, told the kids to leave me alone,¡± he tells, smiling at the last part.


    They¡¯re cute together. As of right now though, I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about them. Remembering everything else that Min Su said, I sigh. ¡°Hyung, does that mean my transition is gonna be as bad as yours?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°No,¡± he answers immediately. ¡°I think transition is different for everyone. Dae Sung¡¯s was not nearly as bad as mine was.¡±


    I have so many questions. Placing my elbows to rest on my legs, I rub my temples. ¡°Okay, then, what all does transition consist of?¡± I wonder.


    ¡°A lot goes on during this time but the most obvious one is voice change. Your voice gets deeper to show that you¡¯re maturing. Which, yours has kind of been doing that for a while. You''ve been squeaking since before we met Pixie. But, in general, your body starts to change all together. Everything about you will get bigger,¡± Min Su pauses and nods. ¡°Everything.¡±


    I can¡¯t help but laugh knowing what that last ¡®everything¡¯ was insinuating. It does make sense though. My clothes seems to be getting too small for me and my feet seem to be breaking out of my boots. Letting my legs rest in front of me, I examine my boots and show them to Min Su. ¡°I think that¡¯s why I need new clothes,¡± I chuckle and smile at him.


    Min Su smiles and pets me. ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do. But other than physical changes,¡± he continues. ¡°Your thoughts change and begin to mature. You start to look at things differently. When a problem arises, you might solve it differently than you would have before. The way you see or look at other people might change too. You may even just notice things around you that you didn¡¯t notice before or hadn¡¯t thought of.¡±


    It all makes sense now. I huff and lay down. ¡°What am I supposed to do about Noona? There is no way I can sleep next to her tonight. Or ever again if this keeps happening!¡± I complain and cover my face with my arms.


    Minsu laughs and lays next to me. I pout in annoyance and sigh. "We''ll figure something out. Don''t worry," he answers. "I''ll talk to Dae Sung when they get back." The older scoots closer and starts playing with my hair.


    We both stay like that until we hear two pairs of footsteps echo through the cave. Once we hear the sound of wet clothes slapping onto the cave floor, Min Su gets up and heads out of the tent.


    "Welcome back," I hear him say.


    I hear Dae Sung chuckle. "Where''s Ki?" he asks.


    "In our tent," the younger replies. "I explained, for the most part, what was going on. Now he''s just relaxing."


    "Is he alright?" Pixie sounds a bit worried. "He''s not ill, is he?"


    "No. Not ill. He''s just, having a hard time right now. I''m sure he''ll be fine in a little while," Min Su tells her.


    "Okay. That''s good then," she replies. "Let''s get the fire started and get cooking."


    The other two stay quiet and I assume they''ve just decided to get to work. Maybe I should go out and help? But I just know Pixie is still in her smock and that will not help me. Sighing, I push the thought aside. Everything will be better tomorrow when she''s back in her normal clothes. Stupid smock making things happen to me.


    Well, since I''ve decided not to help out right now, I close my eyes and settle on a nap.


    <hr>


    When I wake back up, I can smell the food cooking. It must be almost done. Sitting up, I decide to peek out the tent.


    Min Su spots me and smiles. I wave him over and make sure he''s walking towards the tent before I slip back in. As I sit down, Min Su peeks in.


    "What is it?" he asks.


    I take a moment to think before taking off my cloak. "I have an idea. Can you give the cloak to Noona so that she''s covered up more? I think it should help," I reply while handing him the cloak.


    Min Su takes it and nods. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± He heads out and I listen to see what happens. All I can hear is the shuffling of feet and hushed voices.


    The sound of cloth being thrown around gives me the hint that she took the cloak. "How have you gotten this cloak so dirty already?!" Her demand confirms that.


    "It drags the ground! Okay?" I shout back while leaving the tent. "I can''t help that I''m short!"


    I hear Pixie chuckle as I exit. Once out, the other two begin to tease and poke fun at me for being short. A pout appears on my face because of it.


    "Oh, leave him be. He''ll start growing soon," Pixie comforts.


    I nod and steal a glance at her. To my relief, with the cloak on her, my body doesn''t react. "Is the food almost done?" I ask.


    "Yes, actually. It just finished," Pixie answers. "Sit. Let''s eat."


    Everyone sits down. Mealtime goes by with minimal talking as we all just enjoy the deer meat that Pixie retrieved before.


    Once all of us are done, I help clean up the area with Pixie. During that time, I see Min Su and Dae Sung talking to each other.


    "Alright boys. Get some sleep," Pixie says. "When the sun rises, we''ll put on our clothes, pack up, and head out." She briefly glanced over at us and smiles. "We''re much closer to the Kingdom. Right now, we''re on the outskirts of The Enchanted Forest. Once inside, do not wander off. The Forest is designed to keep anyone not of Magickkind away from the Kingdom."


    "How does it do that?" I wonder.


    Pixie chuckles. "It''s enchanted. If you''re a human and don''t posses a type of homing magick, it''ll rearrange itself to make stumbling upon the Kingdom impossible." She stares at me. "So no wandering off."


    Knowing full well that was aimed at me, I nod. I don''t want to get lost so I don''t plan to wander. Now that things are cleaned up, I make my way over to the hyung''s tent.


    "You''re not staying with me tonight, Blondy?" Pixie asks.


    A twinge of guilt hits me and I hesitate. "Uh, not tonight. I need to talk with Hyung about some stuff," I stammer.


    She nods in understanding. "Well alright. Sleep well, Ki." Pixie smiles before disappearing into our tent. I decide to do the same and slip into the other tent, sitting next to Min Su.


    Min Su smiles and pets my hair. "So, let''s talk about what''s going on with you."


    I nod. "Alright. Like what?"


    "What are some of the changes that you''ve noticed with your body?" Dae Sung clarifies.


    Taking a moment to think, I look at them. "Well, I''ve gotten hairier. And-" before I can continue speaking, both of them burst into laughter. "It''s true! But that''s not all!"


    Dae Sung pats my back. "It''s alright. I understand. I think you''ve actually been going through transition for a while now. Your voice started changing a few moons before we met Pixie," he states.


    Now that he mentions it, this has been happening for a while. "Okay. But, how long will this last?" I ask.


    Min Su and Dae Sung both shrug. "We have no idea," Min Su confesses. "My transition started not too long after our village was destroyed. And sometimes, when I think it''s finally over, something else changes. So I think it could go on for a long time."


    I sigh and slump over. "That means I have to suffer for a while?"


    Dae Sung laughs. "Look, maybe your transition won''t even be that bad," he reassures. "Mine was different from Min Su''s."


    "Well, then, what was yours like?" I wonder and sit back up.


    The oldest hesitates and I assume he''s thinking about how to begin. "Well," his pause also adds to that theory. "My transition began a few moons after my 13th celebration of life. As you probably remember, my voice started breaking. But I could say it probably wasn''t too bad. I started building my muscles up quicker, grew taller, and the like. The hardest part about it for me was when I started to see men in arousing ways. I couldn''t keep my eyes off of their bottoms." He chuckles.


    "So, that''s when men started to become attractive to you?" I ask.


    "No. That''s not what I was saying. I''ve always been attracted to men," Dae Sung corrects. "It''s just that, once transition started, I began to appreciate their bodies more than I did before. They affected me differently." He nods and glances at Min Su. "And Min Su was a big part of that. Honestly, at the time, if he did anything around me, I was aroused. I already had feelings for him from back at the village. This just made things, more interesting." He laughs as I nod.


    "I guess that''s good for you guys at least," I say.


    Min Su chuckles and nods. "Yeah."


    "So you''re going through transition?" Pixie''s voice startles me as she peeks her head into the tent. "May I join you?"


    "Uh, yeah," I answer. "Do you know what''s going on?"


    Pixie crawls inside and sits across from me. "Well, I don''t really understand what''s going on with you boys, but I also went through transition."


    "You did?" Dae Sung sounds as surprised as I feel.


    "What was it like for you?" Min Su wonders.


    Pixie looks up and chuckles. "Well, my transition happened after my tenth celebration of life. Since it was before the war had started, my parents were able to guide me through it."


    "Lucky you," I murmur.


    She punches my arm lightly, not enough to hurt though, and continues. "Before transition, all fae are pale, no color in their skin. Once transition begins, the first thing that happens is that they get the reddening of their cheeks, or blush. Depending on what type of fae one is determines how dark the skin becomes. Snow fae, for example, don''t tan. They only gain blush."


    "I guess we know you''re not a snow fae then," I point out with a chuckle.


    Pixie nods and chuckles as well. "That''s true. My skin is very tan." She smiles. "Another thing that happened was my wings grew. As a child, a fae''s wings are almost see-through. During transition, not only do they grow bigger to stay in proportion with one''s body, but they also glow. Mine had a beautiful golden glow to them." Her smile falls into a grimace. "Of course I didn''t get to enjoy that for very long."


    "That''s still really cool," I whisper and smile at her.


    She nods and Min Su speaks up. "Did you get sexually aroused during transition?"


    Pixie looks over at him and raises an eyebrow. "Yes. That is a part of transition. But it wasn''t as big of a problem for me as it seems to be for you boys. Everyone I know went through it. Even the girls at my assassin camp."


    "What all do you know about transition?" Dae Sung asks.


    She turns to him and sighs. "I don''t actually know a lot about a male''s transition. My brother wasn''t old enough to start when he died. So I wasn''t able to learn that way. And at my assassin camp, there was only girls."


    I think of something and perk up. "Is it different from not only girl to girl, but also creature to creature? Like, is a vampire''s transition different from a fae''s?"


    Pixie nods and chuckles. "Yes. I mean, vampire''s don''t exactly go through transition unless they were born that way. But, it''s quite complicated so we won''t get into that now."


    I giggle and nod. "Alright. Then what about other ones that you know?"


    "We had a lot of elves at the camp, so I know a lot about them," Pixie starts. "Elves, just like fae, gain blush. Once their transition starts though, they have to sit vigil for one night under a full moon. I''m too sure as to why, but it''s what they do." She laughs and I can''t help but smile.


    "Wow. I can''t believe how interesting all of this is," I state. "So everyone goes through transition."


    Pixie smiles at me and pets my hair. "Don''t be afraid to talk to me about this stuff. Any of you. I may not know a lot about your transition specifically, but I am here for you."


    We all nod and I smile. "Okay. But I''m still sleeping in here tonight," I chuckle.


    Pixie laughs. "That''s fine. Now you boys get some sleep."


    "We will," we reply in unison.


    At that, she smiles and makes her way out and back to our tent. Once she''s gone, I lay down for the night. All of this has been confusing, but now, I at least have a better understanding of what''s going on.