The previous day

“Yerin-ssi, what are you…?” Yewon couldn’t get to finish her sentence as she was still trying to get over the fact that the missing nymph was in her backyard.

“Let’s get her inside first.” Yuna urged, helping the nymph up.

“R-Right.”

Once the three of them settled in, Yuna and Yewon just shared a look at the current state Yerin was in. She didn’t look too different, just lethargic, but the shapeshifter assumed that it was caused by all the stress she’s experienced ever since she went missing.

“Do you need to rest…?” Yewon asked carefully, concerned for the woman’s well-being.

“I’m alright.” Yerin assured her with a small smile but anyone could tell it was forced, “I need to inform you of what is happening after all.”

“Are you sure?”

“We can’t waste any more time.” Yerin mumbled, grimacing a bit as she held her wrist, “My mother is making her move as we speak.”

Yuna quickly took a seat beside the nymph in alarm, “You mean Queen Ayla? What is it? What’s going on?”

“She’s…” the nymph sighed, “I should start from the beginning.”

“I’ll go and make us something to drink.” Yewon stood up, smiling at Yerin before leaving the two to talk.

“As you know my mother took the ‘Queen’ title for herself as soon as she discovered of my powers upon my birth.” Yerin began to say, “She did it for a reason.”

“Why did she do it then?”

“Starting from that moment, she has been planning to overthrow us or any chosen council leaders. She traveled all over, gathering allies from different realms just so to form her army against us, but I was apparently a hindrance to her plans for the future.”

“How? Didn’t she plan this because she discovered your power?”

“Yes, that is true.” Yerin mumbled, “She started her plan because of me. She knew that I would be chosen as a leader of our kind, thus elevating her status amongst us nymphs. She thought of using me as a stepping stone so she could secretly plan a coup d'etat against us without anyone noticing... But at the same time, there was always that possibility that I would go against her and so she took it upon herself to make sure I would not be able to foil her plans.”

Yuna watched as Yerin reached over to her shoulder and pulled the top of her dress, just enough to show the area above her chest. Yuna’s eyes widened like saucers upon seeing what was on it.

It took only a brief moment to incite a violent reaction from the shapeshifter upon understanding that she was looking at what she thinks it was.

“That’s–!” Yuna’s eyes glowed a bright gold as she snarled in anger, “How could she!?”

“Calm down.” Yerin pulled her clothes back up.

“How can I calm down Yerin!?” Yuna exclaimed, “Isn’t that the symbol of a witch’s curse? How could your mother do that to you!?”

Yuna got the gist of what was happening just from seeing the ugly raven symbol tattoed on the area Yerin had showed her earlier. In order to prevent Yerin from going against the Queen’s plans, the Queen made a contract with a witch from the north and placed a curse on Yerin. From what the nymph said, it was most likely a curse that did not allow Yerin to fight against her mother.

In other words, Yerin knew there was something her mother was planning but she could not do anything about it.

Witch’s curses were the worst spells of all. There were varying effects, but usually they could go from serious life threatening injuries to the death of the one bearing the curse. Just having a minor curse would already spell doom to the curse bearer for a thousand years.

There was also no known cure for it. Only the witches knew about it, but they were not one for sharing information on anything that could be used against them.

However, Yuna was sure that witches’ curses come with a huge price. What did the Queen sacrifice for this…?

Yewon then returned with a tray of drinks in her hands and a concerned look directed towards the shapeshifter. Yuna, seeing the look, calmed down, but only a little as she was still enraged at what the Queen had done to Yerin.

“I am not allowed to raise my hand against my mother, that much is certain.” Yerin explained, “But there was one more.”

“The reason why you left?”

Yerin nodded, her face morphing further into sorrow. It was the first time Yuna saw her showing so much emotion given that Yerin wasn’t always expressive and it hurt her seeing her friend suffering so much over this.

“I only found out when I had an audience with her.” Yerin mumbled, holding her wrist tighter, “There was more to the curse than I initially thought. She was given the power of one absolute order, one command that I cannot refuse no matter what. But the order is limited, and only lasts a few days.”

“What was it?”

“If… If I am in any realm where Sinb is, then she dies.” Yerin’s voice shook as she answered the question.

“I don’t…” Yuna swallowed, “I don’t understand, why didn’t she just order you to leave the realm instead? Why drag Sinb into this?”

"If she did so, then I will be the only one affected. " she replied, "I will still be able to survive it. She knew that I would go against it if I am the only one harmed. I would not mind if it was the only way to put a stop to her plans. I could not let mother do as she pleases! Even… Even if I had to sacrifice myself, I will stop her from wrecking havoc in our realm.

“But I can’t… I can’t lose Sinb.” Yerin shook her head, "I just can’t. She wanted complete assurance that I will do as she says.

There was a rule to the absolute order, that if she wants someone else to suffer the consequence of my disobedience, then that person must be included in the order somehow.” Yerin breathed in, “Sinb cannot be in the same realm as I am under any circumstance.”

“Yerin…”

“I tried.” tears were now freely flowing down the nymph’s cheeks, “I tried not to show my mother any weakness.”

Is that why she’s always so cold to Sinb whenever the Queen was around…? Yuna thought as she listened.

“Knowing how cunning she can be, she will use that against me. But I failed. I showed a weakness. And now the whole realm is in danger because of me. I… I am terribly sorry.”

“Yerin you don’t have to apologize.”

“I am choosing the life of the person I treasure over the lives of our people.” Yerin shook her head, “Yuna, can’t you see? My selfishness is causing this…!”

“And that’s okay.” Yuna assured her, “It’s okay to be selfish sometimes.”

“But not at this cost Yuna.”

“That’s what we’re here for, right?” Yuna told her, bringing her in for a hug which she saw that she definitely needed, “You ran away because your first thought was to save Sinb. You had the power to save her and so you did. Do you think Sinb would be in any less danger if you didn’t do it? There will still be an invasion, everyone will still be in danger. Because you ran away, Sinb is alive and will be there to lead her people to save many more. Even if the Queen did not order you, you would have gone ahead and fought her and sacrificed yourself in the process. Yerin, we will never forgive ourselves if that happened besides, how sure are we that the threat will be gone when she is?

Yerin, if you didn’t run away we would have suffered more, so now focus on the fact that you live to warn us about this and the fact that Sinb is alive to save many more others. And it's too soon to give up just yet, we've already fought strong enemies before. If it's to protect our home then we will fight again, the battle isn't lost yet, Yerin.”

“But…”

“No more buts, we don’t have time to waste. I need to explain to Sojung everything that’s going on. But first,” Yuna stood up, “How long until the absolute order wears off?”

“Three days.” Yerin replied, “Before I came here, I left our realm and consulted a rogue witch in the south.”

“You have a friend who’s a witch?” Yuna folded her arms while looking down at Yerin in slight doubt.

“She is more on healing than cursing.” Yerin assured her, “She left the coven since she was against their ways. I have consulted her more than once with regards to my curse.”

“So you know the cure?”

“It requires the death of the witch who casted the curse. Since we do not know who, it would be impossible unless my mother herself tells me.” Yerin answered solemnly.

Yuna sighed, "There's no other way about it but to fight then?"

"Unfortunately." Yerin nodded, "As you know, me and Sojung keep up the barrier around the realm, but with my absence it is considerably weakened and an attack from outside forces would break it not before long. That is why my mother wants me away as the first step of her plan.”

“So an invasion from the outside…?”

“And also from her allies amongst your ranks.” Yerin warned, “I have been dealing with the nymphs secretly, but for the past day, I am sure that she has gained some followers by now.”

“Amongst our ranks…” Yuna sighed, “Turning our kind against us, this is just cruel… We don’t want another civil war.”

“I can only apologize for my mother’s deeds…”

“Don’t apologize for what that woman’s done.” Yuna told her indignantly, her gold eyes manifesting themselves once more as she growled, “And you can’t keep on calling her your mother Yerin.”

“I–”

“No mother would do that to her child.” Yuna pointed at the place where the cursed tattoo lay, “The second she placed that on you, she was no longer your mother.”

Yerin felt conflicted, knowing that Yuna's words made complete sense. However, there was something holding her back despite everything that the Queen has done.

It was the fact that she is still her mother, her only parent.

“…She’s my remaining family.”

“A family…” Yewon suddenly spoke up, taking a seat by Yerin’s side as the nymph looked up at her, "Isn’t all about blood, Yerin-ssi. They should be there to care for you, to support you and make you feel that you’re not alone in this world even if the world is against you. My family, we’re not perfect, we sometimes get into fights a lot, it can’t be avoided that we have varying opinions, but beneath all that, we know we’ll always be there for each other. One thing I am sure of, unnie, is that a family will never ever put you in harm’s way.

“Your fellow nymphs are your family.” Yewon added, causing the nymph to blink in surprise, “I can be part of your family if you want.”

“The council is your family too, Yerin.” Yuna added with a smile, “Right?”

“I–”

“Though I think Sinb’s bound to become a real family member soon.” the shapeshifter grinned cheekily, and Yerin soon understood the meaning of her words when Yewon explained it, causing a deep shade of red to stain her cheeks at the implication, “Enough of that, I better go and contact Sojung. Yewon-ah, can you stay with her for a bit?”

“Yuna-yah, the only time I tail you around is when you’re a pup and we’re outside. I won’t be following you there, don’t worry.”

Yuna tilted her head in slight confusion, “Tail? You have a tail too Yewon?”

Yerin watched in slight amusement when Yewon just shooed the shapeshifter away, “I forgot to keep teaching her some more words…”

“Yuna’s adapting quickly at least.” Yerin mused, “She’s normally very energetic so I’m surprised she hasn’t done anything too rash while here, you’re doing a good job.”

“Well, she’s done a lot for me too.” Yewon replied, looking over fondly at the direction the shapeshifter went off to, “And she makes everyday better than the previous. If anything, I should be thankful she chose to stay with me.”

“Yuna likes you a lot, I’ll be more surprised if she went home with us that day.” the nymph shook her head, “I envy how she’s expressive of her feelings and how she’s free to do what she wishes.”

“…Is this about Sinb-ssi?”

Yerin felt shy and tried to look away from Yewon’s inquiring gaze, but the reaction was more than enough for the human to understand what was going on.

“Is it because you’re not able to show her how you feel?” the human asked once more, “I’m sure she knows it, Yerin-ssi, why else would she be by your side this entire time?”

“I merely fear that I’m not receptive enough.”

“So you’re scared Sinb-ssi might stop courting you?”

“She’s not…!” Yerin began to say, slighty alarmed before reducing her next words to a mumble, “She’s not exactly courting me. She merely expresses herself very freely and I feel that I should have done the same. It seems unfair to her…”

Yewon just smiled, “You know what Yerin-ssi?”

“Yes?”

“I think you’re expressing yourself to her just fine.” the human said, “And she understands that you’re not as vocal about it as she is, but that’s not a reason to change yourself just like that. Besides, you have a reason why you’ve established a distance between the both of you, right?”

“That’s not an excuse.” Yerin shook her head, her left hand unconsciously holding her wrist once more, “Sinb has done numerous things for me and all I’ve done is bring her trouble.”

“Yerin-ssi, do you think Sinb-ssi is the type of person to stick with you just because she needs something from you?”

“Of course she isn’t…”

“Exactly. She sticks with you because she wants to.” Yewon said, “Sometimes… it’s not what you do for the person that makes you important to them. There are other things.”

“Like?”

“I’m happy with Yuna just being by her side. Nevermind saving me from the ghoul, even if he didn’t appear, I’d still choose to be with her.” Yewon shrugged, “Sinb-ssi probably thinks the same. She just wants to be by your side Yerin-ssi.”

“Even when I’ve done nearly nothing for her?”

“Well, how about you Yerin-ssi, are you with Sinb-ssi just because she’s done something for you?”

Yerin comtemplated her words for a bit, and surprisingly didn’t even take a moment to answer.

“No…”

It wasn’t because Sinb helped her a lot that made her like the elf in return, but it was merely because she was herself, because she enjoyed the elf’s company, because her presence made her feel complete, there was nothing more to it. Sinb, even without all that she’s done for her, is her happiness.

Yewon grinned, “Then you’ve got your answer.”

Yerin couldn’t help but reciprocate the smile the younger was giving her, “Thank you, Yewon.”

“I didn’t do anything.” she replied, looking down at the nymph’s wrist. She’s noticed Yerin has been rubbing that part since she arrived and it worried her that perhaps she was injured there but realized that she was just toying with the accessory on it.

“Yerin-ssi, is that…?” Yewon asked, pointing at the silver bracelet loosely hanging on her wrist.

Yerin followed her gaze and couldn’t help the smile that adorned her face as soon as she saw what she was referring to.

“Sinb gave it to me as a gift not too long ago.” she answered the human’s mental question, “She took me on a ‘date’? I remember her calling it that, however we did nothing but the usual…”

Yewon watched as the nymph slightly pouted, brows furrowed as she thought deep and hard about the meaning of the word. It was a rare sight, to see Yerin not normally in her usual stoic appearance and she realized that perhaps these rare moments were what Sinb enjoyed seeing everytime they were together. It was no wonder why the elf liked teasing her so much. It was to bring out all these expressions that Yerin tries to hide, or perhaps she wasn’t even aware of them, making them completely natural.

It was Yerin’s natural charm.

“Yerin-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“I sort of understand why Sinb-ssi likes you so much.”

“Huh?”

“Come on, hurry up Yerin, the sun’s about to set!”

“Sinb, I’m already seated at our spot, you’re the one who should hurry.”

Sinb stared, seeing Yerin currently sat on a grassy area on the hill that had a great view of the mountains, “Oh, we’re not climbing the tree today?”

“I figured with all the ents in the forest tossing you about like a ball earlier, you’d want to take a break from them for a while.”

Sinb grinned, happy at the thought that Yerin was thinking of her, she bounded happily to the nymph’s side and took a seat to her right. Though she wanted nothing more than to scoot closer to Yerin’s side, the nymph might not like it so she kept a respectable distance, not too close or too far, just enough to make Yerin feel that she was close by.

“What did you think of our date?” Sinb asked, looking over at the nymph.

She hummed, “It didn’t feel all that different to be honest. We spent time together, enjoyed our time as usual...”

“I’m glad you had fun at least.”

“It certainly was enjoyable seeing you being tossed about by the ents earlier.”

Sinb pouted, whining slightly about that moment being embarrassing but smiled when she heard Yerin chuckle at her response.

A few minutes later, the skies colored into its beautiful red, yellow and orange hue. The sun had begun to hide behind the mountains, slowly making its descent as little by little, its light became lesser and lesser. Amongst the colors of red and orange, a shade of purple accompanied the orchestra of colors, indicating that night was settling in.

“Sinb.”

“Hm?”

“Can you sit here a bit closer?”

The elf was confused but readily acquiesed to her request, eager to bridge the gap that has been settling between them since earlier.

However, she never expected Yerin to actually lean against her and rest her head on her shoulder. Yerin’s never been one for skinship, and she has never been the one who initiated during the rare moments she did, so this was a completely new experience for her. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t like it though.

“Are you tired?” Sinb asked.

“A little.”

Sinb smiled softly at how tired she sounded, “We should head home then.”

“Not yet.”

​​​​​​

“…Okay.”

Time felt like it was flying by with how quick night had set in, the skies completely dark sans the little stars that littered the vast expanse of the black sky above them.

“Yerin. Can I borrow your hand for a bit?”

“Hm?”

“Just for a moment?”

“…You’re not planning to do anything profane are you?”

“Of course not! Besides, I don’t want to be tossed off this hill. I know we archers bounce around a lot on tree branches when we hunt, but we don’t like being tossed around by those branches.” Sinb grumbled, remembering the scene earlier where she was mistaken for a trespasser when she went to the Nymphai region and the ents protecting the nymphs’ home begun to move and tossed her everywhere with their branches. It’s a miracle she’s still alive.

Yerin chuckled before holding out her hand to the elf who gently took it in hers. The nymph watched silently as Sinb produced something from her pocket and put it on her swiftly and before she knew it, something was on her wrist. It was cold and light but not uncomfortable.

It was a silver chain bracelet with small flowers amongst the links as an added decoration.

“...You gave me flowers again.” Yerin mumbled, remembering the first time they met.

“Do you like it?”

The nymph held up her hand, eyeing the piece of accessory with slight fondness in her expression. She didn’t understand. It was merely a small piece of jewelry that she wasn’t exactly a big fan of, but this one elated her to varying degrees and she just knew that there was no way she was taking it off.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a commemoration of our first date!” Sinb grinned widely, “I’m glad you like it.”

“Are you never going to tell me what a date is?”

“Nope!”

Yerin just sighed, but let it be, knowing the elf won’t tell her anyway. She’ll just have to ask Yewon when they head over to the human world again for a visit.

She eyed the accessory once more and smiled, ‘This one won’t wither at least…’

we sort of need them to reunite sometime soon yes. it's only been a day in this time though 🤭