01/24/13

Happy New Year!! And Merry Christmas!! And Happy Thanksgiving (for those of you who celebrate it o.O). How have you guys been doing? Sorry for the lack of updates!! Have been very busy with schoolwork and... reading the Hunger Games over winter break.

While I was reading instead of writing over winter break, I hope that the writing of Suzanne Collins will help me write the more... war-like parts of this story! lol see! I was doing research for this story :P

Anyway, the end is coming soon! :O I don't know when I'll be updating again, but since I'm not as busy this quarter, it might be sooner than expected :P

            Bang! Bang!

            Hyuna woke up with a start. Outside her door, she heard panicked voices and war cries. She quickly washed her face and went out of her room. There, she found Hyunseung heading toward her.

            He let out a breath of relief. “Good, you’re awake.”

            “What’s happening?” Hyuna asked. She looked outside and saw an army with bows, arrows, and … guns. Fear overcame her body.

            Advisor Rasfin rushed toward Hyunseung and Hyuna. “You two, hold hands.”

            Hyuna immediately followed his directions, but soon regretted it when she felt a sharp electric current run through her hand. The advisor sprinkled dust on the two of them, and they both became invisible.

            “The spell also masks your footprints in the sand,” Rasfin told them. “Get out of here as quickly as possible. Don’t let lose contact with each other, or else the spell will be broken. Head toward the Palace once you meet up with Nichkhun and Victoria. I’m going to cast the same spell on them soon. So go, now!”

            “Yes, advisor,” Hyuna heard Hyunseung reply.

“Oh, one more thing,” Rasfin shouted. He held out a pouch of magic dust. “Hyunseung, take this.”

            “But Advisor Rasfin, I—”

            “Take it,” Rasfin smiled. “It’ll come in handy.”

            Hyuna saw the pouch disappear from the advisor’s hand. She then felt a tug on her hand, leading her out of the house.

                        ::::::

            When Victoria woke up, she heard a lot of running in the corridors and panic-stricken voices.

            “Victoria, hurry and get dressed,” Nichkhun’s voice came from the bathroom. As always, he had woken up before her.

            Walking over to her with a damp towel, he swiftly wiped her face and body. Heat rose up to Victoria’s face. “I can do it myself, you know.”

            “There’s no time,” Nichkhun answered, fetching her clothes at the same time. He looked at her straight in the eyes. “We’re being ambushed.”

            Victoria felt her stomach drop. It was time. Suddenly, a knock came from the door. Snapping out of her frozen state, Victoria took her clothes from Nichkhun’s hands and quickly put it on while Nichkhun went to the door.

            Making sure Victoria was fully clothed, Nichkhun opened the door to an impatient Rasfin.

            The advisor quickly walked into the room and said, “Quickly. They’re after you, Nichkhun. We’ve got to get you out of here. Hold hands!”

            Not quite understanding the reason behind the advisor’s command, Victoria took Nichkhun’s right hand. The advisor sprinkled magic dust on the two of them, and she realized that she can’t see herself anymore.

            “Don’t let go of each other’s hands!” the advisor warned them. He was glancing around, not knowing where to look. “If you do, the spell will be broken and the two of you will be visible again. The spell also masks your footprints, so there should be no way to track you down.”

            “What are we supposed to do?” Nichkhun asked.

            “Just get as far away from this place as possible,” Rasfin told him. “The leader is a lost descendent of the previous king, and he’s after your blood. The other advisors and I are working on a retaliation spell, but it will not be ready until five days later.”

            “What about Hyunseung and Hyuna?” Victoria asked.

            “I already sent them off,” the advisor replied. “Hopefully, you two will meet up with them sooner or later. Now get out of here!”

            “Thank you sir,” Nichkhun said. “May the best of luck be with you.”

            Victoria felt a tug on her hand, and she followed Nichkhun out the door, her heart beating wildly. Oh, what would she do if they got caught? Taecyeon better know what he’s doing.

            Suddenly, Victoria collided into Nichkhun. She was about to ask him why he stopped running when she saw Taecyeon being surrounded by the ambushers. Speak of the devil.

            “Well, look what we have here,” an ambusher said, examining the necklace around Taecyeon’s neck. “The king.”

            Victoria tightened her grip around Nichkhun’s hand.

            Taecyeon held his head up high. “I am here, so please spare my people.”

            Nichkhun tried to tug her hand away, but Victoria resisted.

            “What should we do with him, boss?” a shorter man asked, smiling excitedly.

            “Nichkhun, calm down!” The tugging grew stronger, and Victoria could barely keep her hold on his hand.

            “We can do many things,” the boss took out a knife and ran it across Taecyeon’s neck.

            “I should be there instead of him, damn it!” Nichkhun’s voice cried out. Victoria immediately tried to cover his mouth with her free hand. It took a few tries, but in the end, she succeeded.

            “Shhh,” Victoria whispered. She felt tears running down his cheeks.

            “He’s never done anything wrong.”

            “I know,” Victoria breathed out, thankful that he lowered his voice.

            “Why does he have to take my place?” his voice grew louder. “You’re right, Victoria. I’ve always been a coward, but I shouldn’t be a coward any longer.”

            “You’re not a coward,” she stated, holding Nichkhun still. “You’re being stupid right now! Taecyeon is saving your life, and if you go there now, won’t all of his efforts be left to waste?”

            Pulling Nichkhun into a hug, she continued. “You can save him, but not right now.”

            “Kill him, boss!” one of the ambushers shouted. Victoria felt Nichkhun tense up.

            “No,” the leader retracted his knife slowly away from Taecyeon’s throat. “Although we have a willing participant, let’s have a little fun with him first.”

            Turning away from Taecyeon, the leader ordered one of his men to tie ‘the king’ up. “Besides, I want him to be killed brutally… in the Palace.”

            Victoria shuddered with fear. She felt Nichkhun shaking as well, but instead of fear, he was filled with anger.

            “That vile, loathsome—“

           She cut him off. “Nichkhun, you heard him! They’ll only kill Taecyeon after they reach the Palace!”

           “But they’ll do something to him beforehand, I know it!” Nichkhun protested. “They’ll torture him! I should be the one taking in that pain!”

            “Nichkhun, focus!” Victoria whispered harshly as she shook his shoulders. “We’ll all die if you show yourself to them right now!”

            He finally stilled. Breathing a sigh of relief, Victoria continued. “They won’t kill him until they reach the Palace. We can use this time to think of a plan. Save Taecyeon, save the innocent civilians, save all of us.”

            Nichkhun was quiet for a while. Then, he asked, “He told you about this, didn’t he?”

            Knowing he was referring to Taecyeon, Victoria replied, “Only part of it.”

            “Alright,” Nichkhun sighed. “Then let’s go.”

            She felt him take her hand, and they both ran away from the house and toward the sand dunes.