Chapter 023; Premonition

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A hand placed to her head, the clearly disturbed girl seems to be enveloped in a contemplative air. For the past several days she has stayed in that exact position, moving only when it was time to eat, which she did sparsely, or when she needed to relieve herself. Sumin hasn’t budged from her spot at the backmost corner of the carriage, she has remained placid throughout the journey thus far. Even Kyungsoo’s incessant nagging isn’t enough to get her out of her slump. Her irritable nature is diminished it seems, for even as the boy’s rough-housed, played idiotic games, and the like—Sumin remained absolutely unwavering.

“She’s not usually like this,” Tao comments solemnly. It was bothering, to say the least. They wondered if her soul had been reaped, at some point or another, but that seemed unlikely. Many of them recalled how on the third day of their travels, Jongin was forced to coax food into , as she had refused to eat for the entire day. After getting a meager three spoonfuls down , the annoyed boy gave up, flinging the clay bowl out of the carriage in a fit of rage.

Through curses he had screamed, “Stop taking your problems out on everyone else!”

Today, however, as the beginnings of morning light seep into the carriage and the world seems to shake itself awake, Sumin rouses from her usual position. The others lie asleep, blind to her movements as she slips through the carriage soundlessly. All except one fail to notice her disappearance; that one being Baekhyun. Similarly, Baekhyun didn’t dare to consume much of anything, nor did he speak unless directly spoken to. Even then, his responses were clipped, soft, and mournful. At night, the others pretended not hear his muffled sobs, even as they launched him into a choking fit. It was his right to cry, they all believed.

Sitting up, Baekhyun watches as she disappears around the carriage, her footsteps inaudible as she does so. His head pounds vengefully as he contemplates what to do: to follow her or to stay as he is. His eyes dart around the interior of the carriage, where the four other boys sleep soundly, each seeming happily lost in their dreams. He holds back an exasperated sigh as he heaves himself upwards, wobbling slightly as he stands. Hardly as graceful as Sumin, Baekhyun tumbles to the ground as he hoists himself out of the carriage, groaning softly as he stares up at the orange-tinted sky.

Carefully, he follows the passage she had taken around the carriage, pausing only to make sure the others hadn’t awoken. The horses have already awoken, he realizes, as their hooves paw at the ground lightly and their neighs occupy the otherwise silent morning. Baekhyun’s fingers trail along the smooth, mud-stained wood of the carriage. A flash of black clouds his vision for a moment as he moves to round the corner of the carriage, and it’s then that he feels a sharp pang of pain crawl up his arms as they’re twisted behind his back, his head yanked backwards and a knee sent diving into his spine. Out of his peripheral vision, he happens to catch sight of sleek black hair and pale skin, but all of those thoughts drift away as lips press themselves near his ear, whispering harshly, “You followed me.”

Sumin, he thinks instinctively, and sure enough, the tight grip on his limbs is released as she steps before him, wary brown eyes revealing strength intermixed with inklings of vulnerability. “You moved,” Baekhyun stutters, looking to the ground as he rubs his wrist absently. Light red finger marks remain where she’d gripped him just moments before. Sumin is just as his mother had said she was: incredibly strong. Her eyes flick over his untidy robes distastefully as she shrugs simply.

“As did you,” Sumin notes. She looks at him for a moment, contemplative, and he could have sworn she was going to say something—but, instead, she moves away. When he doesn’t budge, she looks back with an imminent frown, “Well, are you coming?” Baekhyun jogs up to her, still a meter behind as he’s far too nervous to stand face-to-face with Bang Sumin. The girl screams danger from every pore of her being. Regardless, he follows obediently as she hikes up the hill parallel to the carriage. The countryside around them is mountainous, with rolling hills evolving into towering mountains. The terrain is jagged and rough, littered with wildflowers, dense shrubbery, and small creatures of all kinds. Despite the boulders and ledges that compose the area, Sumin scales the steep hill with ease, leaving Baekhyun sputtering and breathless as he attempts to follow her from several feet behind.

Glancing back, Sumin offers a hand to Baekhyun, who takes it reluctantly despite feeling weak as she hauls him up behind her. The top of the hill lies just feet ahead of them, and Sumin quickly tromps her way up the hill, eyes gleaming as she reaches the lookout point. Baekhyun follows less enthusiastically, huffing as he nearly trips over a rather large rock jutting out of the ground. His breath, however, hitches in his throat as he catches sight of what lies before them. A vast city spans out as far as the eye can see, the people of the city just barely stirring as they peruse the small alleys, visibly haggling at the tiny corner shops. Thatched roofs and small huts disappear into a sea of larger houses, with courtyards and heavy iron gates. And, at the core of the city lies a large palace, it’s glory emanating from the jade statues out front to the excellent craftsmanship of the building itself. Baekhyun chokes slightly as he realizes, this is what civilization looks like.

Sumin settles down on a large, smooth rock and stares blissfully out at the city. In that moment, she doesn’t look barbaric or warrior-like or anything else of that sort—she looks like Sumin, a young girl in a big world. “When I was child,” she begins, startling Baekhyun out of his stupor, “I lived in a small village in the middle of the woods. It was peaceful there. I used to help my mother, and play with the other kids, and I always thought my father was the strongest man in the world.” Sumin pauses, her voice catching in —it’s then that Baekhyun notices the tears streaming down her cheeks. “But, then the bandits came. My parents hid me from them, they risked their own lives. How selfish of me to have ever disobeyed them, huh? Well, the bandits murdered them and everyone else in my village. I lived as an orphan, and I would have died had my dad—the commanding general of my clan—found me and taken me in.” she explains, holding back sobs as she talks. Baekhyun sits beside her, placing an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers softly.

Shaking her head, she sniffles and wipes the tears away. “I’m not looking for pity, Baekhyun,” Sumin says sadly, “I just want you to know that you’re not alone, I’ve lost a mother before, too.” They both stay silent for several minutes, Sumin desperately wiping away tears, hating the vulnerability she’s shown. “You can’t—we can’t—be dead in our own bodies. Do you think they want that? If anything, you must avenge them. You must fight harder, train harder, and live more—all for them. If you let yourself die, you’ve failed them, because you must live in their stead. You must live in their honor, for they risked everything for you to prevail.”

Baekhyun nods, silent for a moment before chuckling darkly, “Honor? You said it yourself before; she was a witch. Where’s the honor in that?” He bites down on his lower lip, eyes set on Sumin’s face. Her head tilts slightly as she turns back to the skyline, where lilac hues stain the sky.

“She loved you,” Sumin says finally, “any being—witch or not—that is capable of loving someone as much as she loved you, they have honor. And they have humanity.” Baekhyun says nothing as he lowers his head, a short choking sound coming from his mouth, though it ceases a moment later. Dark eyes glazed over with an unreadable emotion, Sumin carefully places a hand on his back and rubs in small circles. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see. We’ve all gone through a lot, we’ve all lost a lot. But, the end isn’t here yet. We can still fight.”

Wiping thick tears away with the sleeves of his robe, Baekhyun sniffles slightly before clearing his throat. “Where to next, then? I mean, who else needs to be found?” he asks, peering curiously at Sumin’s sharp profile. Hoisting herself up, she sighs loudly and places her hands on her hips.

“Five have been found,” she whispers, “that leaves seven more.”

Baekhyun follows suit, rising to his feet and brushing powdery dirt from his robes. “Do you have any idea where the next power can be found?” he continues, following quietly behind her as she scales a gathering of large boulders. Ahead, a dark mass, wide and willowy glides across the sky at what seems to be an intense pace. As it draws closer, the beast is revealed to have an auburn , plated in large feathers and shielded by a silver plate. It passes overhead with a deafening roar, though it’s otherwise silent afterwards. Sumin appears wistful as she watches it, hanging dangerously from the largest of the boulders. Her hair, set loosely about her shoulders, ruffles and glistens as the beast passes.

Smiling somewhat devilishly, Sumin nods and gazes back at the expansive city just beyond the hill. “I have a feeling something lies within that city. Call it a premonition.”

Because that’s exactly what it is.

A/N;

+ Procrastination is such a problem for me, jeez. I was going to post this last Sunday because I only needed to write like one more paragraph, and I just finished that paragraph today. Wow. Well, to be honest, I wanted this to be longer (around 2,000 words), but I didn't want to write just to make it longer, if you get what I mean. I dunno. But, in other news, EXO had a comeback. HOW MANY OF YOU WERE EXCITED? I bet you all were. I'm gonna try and update at least once a week--if I can do more, then I will. I'm just somewhat busy because of different projects (like the one I'm supposed to be doing right now). Well, if you're feeling it, then: subscribe, comment, and upvote! Bye, loves!

PEYTON

P.S. ANYONE KNOW WHO MIGHT BE NEXT?