~oOo~

Two little girls ran hand in hand on the grassy hillside, their hair billowing in the wind, brown and lustrous against the afternoon sun. They ran upwards, giggling even as their dresses caught against the random twigs scattered about. Their eyes were lit afire with glee as they raced with the breeze. Their smiles were unmistakable. At the age of six and five, they glowed with life. They were both strong and nimble young ladies. They had their lives ahead of them, blessed with abundance under the supervision of the Element Nobles, the prophesied maidens and the good citizens of Elyxo.

“Hurry!” the older of the two girls, Shinhae, said to the younger one.

The younger one, the daughter of the Wind Noble and the prophesied maiden of Korinthia pumped her legs as she tried to catch up to her cousin. “Unnie, wait for me! I’m tired.”

“Aigoo, Jihye, you’re already tired? We’ve been running just a few minutes.” Shinhe reached for her hand and pulled her along with her as they continued their uphill climb when suddenly, Jihye tripped off a loose root and stumbled forward, scarping her knee. “Jihye-ah!”

The younger girl buried her face on her palms and began crying silently, nursing her sore knee.

“Are you alright?” Shinhae asked.

“I scraped my knee and I ruined my dress. Look at it!” Jihye shrieked.

Shinhae smiled at her cousin. “That’s alright. We’ll go to Yi Xing dàyé later to have that taken cared of.” She reached out her hand. “Then Baekhyun ahjusshi said he will take us to the village with Baozi dàyé.” She bent over, tore the end of her dress and secured the scrapes. “See? It’s gone. Don’t cry.”

Jihye immediately smiled and took her cousin’s proffered hand and stood up. “Thank you, unnie.”

“You’re welcome.”

Not far from where the girls were playing, Jinhae smiled at her daughter and niece. She glanced to her side, eyeing her sister who was watching the girls as well. “They grow so fast,” she murmure