Elder Azam nodded, a heavy frown on his forehead. “We’ve heard about what happened earlier. Is the Chosen Soul alright?”

Yixing noticed the slight tense of Wufan’s shoulders as he nodded to the much older man. “Iola’s alright now, Elder.”

Joonmyun smile was tight and strained, unlike the usual wide ones he usually wore. “We’ve captured the traitors and held them in the dungeon.”

The Elders nodded thoughtfully, one or two looking at Iola’s direction and Yixing tightened his grip on her hand, moving sideway discreetly to cover her.

Elder Maona saw the gesture though, and sighed. “About the prophecy that we heard last night….”

In unison all the Guardians stepped forward, each in defensive stance surrounding Iola, effectively shielding her from sight. Elder Maona didn’t seem surprised by it, though Yixing noted that several Elders frowned and seemed rather affronted.

“You are not taking Iola!” Sehun hissed through gritted teeth, shaking off Kyungsoo’s restraining hand on his arm.

Chanyeol nodded furiously, the curls of his hair bobbing up and down. “She’s not some sacrifice to kill!”

Another Elder, the darkest one among them, put a hand up in defense. “We understand your concern Guardians; this comes as a surprise to all of us, no doubt.”

“Elder Nitesh is right. Believe us when we say we also didn’t know that the prophecy would be like that,” Elder Baldo added.

Joonmyun bowed slightly at his direction, always the polite leader. “We do, Elder Baldo, Elder Nitesh. Forgive us if we seemed disrespectful.”

Elder Baldo nodded back, his long white beard swaying with each move of his big body. “Nothing to forgive, my boy. It is a truly nasty business, this prophecy.”

Baekhyun cleared his throat uncomfortably. “So what do we do now, Elders?”

Elder Azam looked resigned, face weary and older than his true years. “To be honest, I do not know. Like my fellow Elders said, this is not what we expected at all so we are still at lost on our next step.”

Besides him Elder Maona rubbed his chin in thought. “We need to think about what we should do next carefully.”

The Guardians looked at one another, rather unsure on what to do next, when a sharp voice spoke up.

“One thing hasn’t changed, though,” Elder Luz said, his voice impassive. “The Tree of Life is still deteriorating, and we still need to find a way to save it.”

Yixing could feel the hand in his grip trembling again and he squeezed it tightly, hoping to convey some comfort to Iola.

“What are you implying by that, Elder?” Yixing hoped no one noted the slightly harsh edge of his voice, though he knew he wasn’t successful when Luhan shot him a sharp, warning glance.

“I am not implying anything, Guardian, I am merely stating the fact, that’s all.”

Tao stepped up, looking thunderous. “Are you saying that we should do whatever it takes to save the Tree, even commiting murder?”

Elder Luz stared coldly; his thinning, platinum blonde hair seemed almost white underneath the sunlight from the open window. “Do not put words in my mouth, Guardian. I am just saying that the Tree is still in danger, and as Guardians it is your utmost duty to protect it.”

“So it’s alright to kill Iola after all, even though she’s just an innocent in this matter?!”

“Tao,” Joonmyun hissed, trying to reach out a hand to the younger man, to which Tao shrugged off harshly.

“I did not become a Guardian to slaughter innocent lives!” Tao bellowed, face black with rage.

“Tao!” Wufan barked. “That’s enough!”

Jongin loped an arm around Tao’s shoulder who was heaving hard and trembling from his outburst. Together with Minseok they tried to drag him back though without any success. It was only after Iola reached out to put a comforting hand on his back did Tao relented and let himself be pulled away.

Wufan glared at the young Guardian to which Tao stubbornly looked away, before the blonde sighed and turned back to face the Elders.

“Forgive him, Elders. He is still distraught over what had happened.”

Elder Luz raised a hand to stop Wufan’s words. “It’s alright, I understand his outburst. I do not mean anything by what I said earlier, only to state that the safety of the Tree of Life is still your priority.”

Joonmyun nodded. “We understand, Elder.”

The white-blonde Elder nodded back, before directing his hardened gaze at the still shaking Tao.

“Tell me this though, young Guardian. You’ve never experience the Great War like we did, as it ended before your Guardianship. You’ve never gone to battle everyday for the sake of your country. You’ve never have to fight, to kill someone so that others can live. You’ve never look into someone’s eyes at the last moment of their life, seeing the desperate pleas and fear in them, etching into your soul long after the person died.”

The Elder were trembling as he balled his hands into fists. “We did those to protect the Tree and this land and its people, as is befitted of our duty as Guardians. From our point of view, we are protecting our people, the innocent. But those that we kill, they have people waiting for them at home, families, friends, loved ones. To those waiting, they are innocent too.”

The Guardians stood still, riveted on their spots as the Elders looked at one another, pain and anguish clear in their eyes. Yixing could feel Iola stepping closer to him and he squeezed her hand again.

Elder Luz’s gaze was hard, before the tension eased out of his shoulder and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“In the end, who is to judge who among us is innocent?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Are you sure you want to do this, Iola?”

Iola wasn’t sure, not at all. Her mind was still reeling from everything that had happened to her in the short time span of less than a day.

Less than a day to have some prophecy claiming for her death.

Less than a day to have the world swept up from under her feet and left her hanging upside down.

Less than a day to have people trying to kill her and almost succeed at that, too.

She glanced sideway at Yixing at her side, where he’d always been ever since she had woken up.

Less than a day when she almost lose this person next to her.

Iola stifled a tired sigh, hoping nobody noticed her exhaustion. After the Elders have left her room leaving a tense atmosphere in the air, the Guardians have tried to comfort her, assuring her time and time again that nothing will happen to her.

Iola appreciated the effort, she really does, but she couldn’t shake off that foreboding premonition resided deep into her veins. A strange, dark loom seemed to settle over her, weighing her down and she shook her head to clear her mind, ignoring the worried glances thrown at her.

“I’m sure, Wufan. I want to see them.”

The first chance she got when the Guardians quieted down she had asked to see Rocana and the other women. The men had of course protested loudly, but she was adamant to it. Finally after long arguments did they relent, and took her through the honeycomb of passage and corridor, balconies and cavernous halls and comfy rooms that made up the castle. At one end of the building they climbed down stone steps until they reached a stone doorway.

Joonmyun had a concerned frown as he peered down at her. “Iola, maybe this isn’t a good idea. It’s better to just leav-“

“They were trying to kill me, Joonmyun!” She glared at the smaller leader. “Now I don’t know about you, but when someone’s trying to kill me, I’d want to know why,