I find myself living life, searching for the clear spots on my glasses.

- Sonnet 32, Song of the Brave

 

The campfire blaze was their only source of warmth and light, and the three of them were getting plenty of it despite the night's icy wind. They had their sleeping arrangements all sorted out and just how each one would spend keeping watch. LuHan would guard first shift since he was the youngest. Next would be Baekhyun, the clown man, and finally Yi Fan, the scholar. They would begin their quest once more at dawn, continuing East.

 

LuHan threw another stick of kindling wood onto the fire, watching it turn black almost instantly. "Don't waste the timber," Baekhyun scolded playfully as he leaned back, setting his bowl of stew aside. The first, and probably last, good meal they'd have on their trip.

 

"There's a town a few miles from here," Yi Fan said putting his own bowl aside, knowing he'd be the one to clean their dishes later. "We can get more supplies there if we need to."

 

Baekhyun nodded with a faint smile, "and that's why Yi Fan is on this trip." He said yawning, "he's good for knowing useless knowledge."

 

"Unlike you," Yi Fan shook his head before looking over at the blond haired boy. He'd been quiet almost the whole trip. He only spoke when it was absolutely necessary and even then it was a bare minimum. He was picking at his stew, something obviously on his mind. Most of the time the three were silent, they never even spoke of the trip in great detail. Maybe now was the time to try. "What brought this on then?"

 

Both Baekhyun and LuHan looked over curiously. When Yi Fan didn't continue, Baekhyun decided to speak up, "we're searching East to find the Pythoness." He glanced at LuHan, almost with worry, "LuHan is looking for his sister."

 

"If she's the diva, what does it matter," Yi Fan said it as a statement rather than a question.

 

"He's going to try and rescue her," Baekhyun grinned. "Even if it means putting the kingdom at risk."

 

"Fool boy," Yi Fan snorted. "Then it's an impossible quest," he shook his head, "a lot of others have searched for divas and each one has died. They say its lair is made of the ground up bones of the idiots that have tried."

 

"Then why did you agree to come with us?" Baekhyun asked with a yawn, "if you know it's impossible."

 

Yi Fan didn't say anything. Instead, he looked over at LuHan, "what made you start this journey?"

 

Baekhyun opened his mouth to answer for the blond haired boy, but LuHan spoke up first. "Everything I ever did when I was growing up never felt like it belonged to only me. It felt as though I was never a whole. When I turned fourteen, I asked my mother about it. I felt real emptiness," he reached up and clutched his pendant. "She said I had a sister."

 

"The diva," Yi Fan summed.

 

LuHan nodded, "yeah. She said that when we were babies, they came and took her from us. The last diva was dead and it was my sisters turn to step up. Mom didn't want me to know about her…"

 

"Most parents try to forget those they've lost to the beast," Baekhyun explained, whether to Yi Fan or LuHan, it was uncertain. "I don't blame them. Especially having twins."

 

"I could feel her though," LuHan continued without skipping a beat. "I did my research for the past two years but nothing has come up. No one knows anything about the beast or it's location for sure. The only one that knows is the Pythoness."

 

"The one who speaks for the beast," Yi Fan nodded, "she's said to be a beauty, cursed to forever serve a monster." He yawned and leaned back until he was down on his back, eyes closed. "I noticed we don't follow a map. How do you know where you're going if no one knows where this dwelling is?"

 

Baekhyun had been wondering that too, though he'd never thought to ask. He looked over at the blond haired boy as he sighed and looked up at the sky. "I can hear her voice. She's singing to me. Sometimes, it's so clear, I can sing back and I know she hears it." LuHan replied.

 

"That's ridiculous," Yi Fan sighed, shaking his head, feeling himself start to drift off to sleep.

 

Baekhyun looked over at Yi Fan then back over to LuHan, not sure what he could say. "He does make a point," he muttered before laying down and trying to sleep also. At sun up, they'd be on the move once more and they needed all the rest they could get.

 

LuHan looked at each of his traveling companions then shook his head and leaned back on his elbows. The only noises he could hear were that of crickets and the crackle of the firewood snapping now and again. The noises were all random, not an actual pattern to be found within. Then he closed his eyes, in a deep breath and sang. "Without a certain destination, I keep pursuing east. My own shadow is the only company. I carve the distant voice on my blank map, as I seek to whom it belongs to…"

 

His voice was soft and carried far out with the wind. He didn't know who he was singing to or why. He just had to keep doing it. He had to let her know he was looking for her. Even if he wasn't sure how he'd do it.

 

 

 

 

"Yi Fan is gone," the oracle stated as she looked over her things. "How disconcerting," she said moving a strand of brown hair out of her eyes. Ji Eun was the oracle to the kingdom, highly gifted and able to see all she had to in order to keep things running in accordance to the laws.

 

"I've heard he's gone on a quest. With a strange and so-called humorous man. The two of them are accompanying a young boy to the East." D.ana said standing at attention to the oracle. She was the high swordswoman. As such, she had duties to attend to and this was one of them. "It was only a matter of time I suppose," she said cracking a witty smile. "I always knew there was something off about him."

 

The brown haired girl didn't seem to care for the joke. She didn't show any expression on her face as she watched the swordswoman. A stare down ensued until she turned her back and moved to the closest window. "Tell me then, Lady D.ana. You've heard that much news, where does this boy originate?"

 

D.ana was silent for a moment, trying to think of what she'd been told. "He lives in a small village by the sea. He is only age sixteen, and hardly a threat, if that was what you were thinking." She drew her sword at an instant, "I will cut him down myself if you would like."

 

"No," Ji Eun said, finally letting a smile grace her lips. "A sixteen year old, hair as yellow as the sun. Coming from a town to the sea and pursuing something in the East." She turned to the lady swordswoman, "now who does that sound like to you?"

 

D.ana's eyes immediately widened, "are you saying that he…?"

 

"Yes," Ji Eun said turning back to the window looking out at the half moon. "He's the brother to the diva. See to it he doesn't get further than this place." D.ana was hesitant but slowly nodded, bowing her head as she turned and left. When the soft sound of the door shutting was heard, the lady oracle let her breath finally catch up to her. "So. It's begun."

 

 

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