Chapter 17: Holding back

Warning: Cliche action scenes because I am terrible at writing action. Yes. I am practically disabled in this area. I was listening to Lovey Dovey by T-ara and Exo’s MAMA on playback as I was writing the scenes on the island. Maybe you could listen to those to set the mood hahaha. Rather a short one this time. :P

Yesseu, in legends and folklore, was known to be an island graveyard long before it became the asylum for witches and other sorcerers; the very reason why the shore were gray and the trees, though alive and water, were bald. A graveyard of what you may ask? Well, some say it was where the feudal llords fought the conflicting battles between the ones who wanted to conquer Korea. Notice now that it is the border end of the nation? A century ago, lords who risked their lives were buried in Yesseu, the British taking over finally and colonizing Korea and molding it into their own little nation.

But alas, as the consistent starring of wizardry in what is known to be the land of Sangdokchi and Byungmi, Yesseu became the prison of these malicious miracle-workers, locking them up in cells that degenerate magical ability. This restriction is only enabled with a code spoken by the warden or someone of royal blood. Once sentence has been lifted thereof, the witch is still condemned within the island and is still restrictted to use magic upon the decree of the current monarchy. This is why most witches, after their release from the asylum, choose to be burned to death, instead of living without magic.

This in mind, Victoria thought how very strange it was for that witch to stick around, existent, breathing and aging ordinarily. Why though, Victoria pondered in the middle of their bleak scenario. Would she be wishing to live a normal mortal life? Or could she be waiting to fool a drunk prince, dragged by the waves after his ship wrecked, to say her magical words? Before another conclusion popped out of Victoria’s head, Nichkhun’s sword was by her ear side; a shrieking voice from behind made her more vigilant of the current situation as the smell of blood rose up into the moist dusk atmosphere.

“Now’s not that time to have those ‘moments’ Qian,” stated Nichkhun, calmly she noticed, pulling the girl’s hands as she remained idle pensively.

The dead, the soldiers of the past, they were finally walking on earth again. Although without much strength, Seohyun and Kyuhyun, still side by side but awfully quiet, fought back the tears, both holding their swords at their sides as they ran ahead of the crew, Yoona just behind them clashing her sword at an occasional undead approaching. It wasn’t that difficult, this princess even decided but then certainly frigtening, as she slayed two bodies and counting, eyes closed oftentimes, and leaving Kibum the honors of finishing off with a head slice.

Even panic-driven all were, and tired from running, nobody stopped squirming through the thick woods. Seohyun, from Yoona’s perspective since she was behind her all this time, was stiff, though very brave to be venturing head on out. This time she was the leader. This time she was the one making rules. And Seohyun’s keen sense of hearing and smell made her very sharp especially when she would sense some of the zombies coming right after them. She used not her sight this time, but the ones she had harnessed to an extent it became sort of like a superpower, Yoona then concluded. She was proud of her sister.

“Almost there,” Seohyun said to them, her ears hearing already the ocean.

They followed at once, lucky, oh so lucky enough not to be stopped by a horde of these undead. From behind Victoria struggled as one tried biting her leg off, Nichkhun kicking back with much force. Because of their distinct smell of being mortals, the more that they attracted the darkness.

“Off with their heads!” Seohyun simply suggested, as they seemed to have been cornered by these horrid mindless things. Kyuhyun had never seen her so...different, seemingly possessed by someone not herself, then again, was it now because he was looking at his sister? He shook his head and followed orders to kill, and he didn’t even think the princess could somehow be like one of them, one who had grown up with the rough and rowdy, one who actually lived a normal life.

“Ugh, a little help over here, anyone?” Yoona, apart from the fact that she was surrounded around two to three of the ghouls, accidentally dropped her weapon, in which Kibum and Nichkhun dashed to her side and cut off the heads of those.

Yoona picked her sword after that, her knuckles actually murkily painted in brownish blood. He observed, nearly in both pity, love and admiration. Yoona, his heart even yelled so loudly, the thumping...Kibum, you shouldn’t. Distracted as Yoona stood up highly, brushing the small parts of her brunnette fringes away from her eyes. And then she smiled at him, biting her lips before her eyes widened in total shock.

“Oh !” Muttering, Kibum was girded down by a rabid one, Victoria coming to his side with a high kick and chopping off the zombie’s arms and leg.

“Atta girl, Qian!” cheered Kyuhyun, as the rest of them followed the younger princess towards the open.

The younger ones were on the lead, Kyuhyun and Seohyun, as Nichkhun followed, hearing the sound of the waves crashing.  These and a whole lot more situations delayed the chase back to the ship in which when they did finally, despite that they were followed constantly by the enraged undead, the crew was taking out the anchor and setting sail, moving farther and farther away from the shore.

“Wait for us, goddammit!” shouted a frustrated Yoona, seeing as though they were already leaving without them, Kibum, since he was the last, troubling about the ones that trailed them until this part of the island.

Kyuhyun was first to reach the waters, climbing up on the anchor. Seohyun immediately jumped into the water, following him, her eyes stuck on him as he held out his hand for her to reach.

“Grab on and climb up,” Kyuhyun hastily told her, and she followed diligently, getting on the anchor. Before he knew it, she was already doing her best to hold herself up, feet at the side of the ship to keep balance as she trailed upward.

She was glaring at the crew now coming to help her, and in her anger she could have shoved her sword into each one’s pants, but what the hell, at least they had not really left them as they seemed to have planned in the first place. Grunting and panting behind her was her literally new found bother, Kyuhyun, exhausted and tired, stayed on the floor, seated to rest.

Seohyun had no intention to approach him, her whole heart and soul angered at the idea that Kyuhyun had not told her about his ring and that he was the lost prince of Byungmi. These emotions woke her to the reality at hand and to face it, she had no idea how. Kyuhyun, her brother, was in love with her, as if the situation at hand was not pressure enough. Putting this at heart, her tears came rolling down again and she disappeared now to her chamber in the ship.

She was never in love with Kyuhyun. Of course, she wasn’t, again and again she reminded herself this as the pillow got wet now.

But why did it hurt so much, so ing much that she wanted to be killed in that island instead than live upon the truth, live as someone who would have Kyuhyun as her brother?

The anchor was pulled up now, with everyone else safely aboard, and with Yoona using every amount of energy to scold the captain for just leaving without notice, Kibum finally came up with the anchor, his eyes still stuck on that island of doom and death. The witch disappeared with the ring, that in mind, Kibum still wondered what else could she have done with it now? Would it be all right from here on?

“You okay?” Throwing his sword away, Nichkhun kneeled beside Kyuhyun, Victoria also falling to his other side.

He had his hand over his eyes, propped up by his right knee. “I don’t...know. I...just don’t know anymore.”

Victoria held his shoulder, and he turned her, smiling at him like she had just given him the best gift in the world. “Hey...it’s going to be okay, okay?”

Teary, Kyuhyun gritted his teeth in furious. “You know it won’t be! It never will be,” he weeped sadly onto his crossed arms that bridged both of his knees together.

Nichkhun glared at Victoria for making it worse and she did the same. “It’s your fault, you know!”

“What did I do this time?”

“You told him he was the prince and now---”

“But is he not? The truth has to come out someday, Qian!”

Kyuhyun remained quiet, unlike the usual times when the two argued, he would be the one in the middle to stop and pull on whatever joke and prank over any of them to lighten the mood. Now there was no mood to be lightened up, because as Kyuhyun all knows, the future would be as dark as the gloomy sky and he would have rather died long ago  if he was fated to meet his own sister and fall in love. How cruel, how stupid. Since when did he not actually accepted the fact that true enough, just like the witch’s observation, they could never become what he had hoped for in the first place.

It actually burned his heart, that right now, all he wanted was to wish time back where he couldn’t have just went to that party and met her. What was destiny after, he really had no idea how life was so playful, so assuring, and then let you down in the end.

Quietly the two finally left him alone on the deck, the other crew members going to their cabins to take some good night rest and for a moment, the waves were the only thing he could hear as it splashed against the wooden bottom.

Footsteps were to his side, just slowly, and before he knew it, he d for his sword while still not looking up, quietly and so swiftly when finally the tapping stopped, and Kyuhyun let go to see her boots, to see the pants torn and slightly smelling of blood, to see her tired yet happy. Guess it wasn’t the girl he was expecting.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she told him.

Kyuhyun smirked. “I bet she can’t either. We are after all, connected if you must say it, your majesty.”

Yoona finally sat down next to him, sighing as the silence engulfed them into looking at the stars. “I’m sorry...of what I said earlier this evening.”

“Showing respect I see,” He scoffed.

“That explains the temper, though. And that courage,” Yoona smiled.

Kyuhyun turned away. “Just because I’m royal now, you could do all you want.”

“Of course not,” Yoona shook her head, patting his shoulder. “I really am...sorry.”

“Sorry for me being the lost prince?” Kyuhyun said after her, making the girl blanch. “I know. I’m sorry for being your brother too. I’m sorry for Seohyun. I’m sorry to you for letting you two down. For letting Seohyun down. You were right. You were right, I shouldn’t have let her believe in love. I knew it was trouble anyway.”

“How ironic,” Yoona decided, pouting at this as the stars above shone brighter every second. “Do you know how often people associate love as blind? It seemed a bit insulting now doesn’t it on Seohyun’s part?”

He