TaeYeon was wandering through the woods when she first saw her. A girl of fifteen summers old, on the cusp of entering womanhood, folded her chiton up until the hem sat just below her knees. The girl moved around, testing the new mobility of her modified outfit. Judging from the light blush dusting her cheeks and the way she tugged at her tunic while keeping her legs together, it was unusual for her. Yet she nodded to herself with resolve. While the scene was quite peculiar to watch, it was what she did next that nudged TaeYeon out of the shadow: the girl picked up a bow that stood almost as tall as herself.

"That's not how you hold it," TaeYeon said, melodious yet clear as thunder.

The critters in the surrounding area instantly quietened. The girl froze where she stood. After fumbling with the bow, she dropped it in favor of an arrow from her quiver. She held it up like a knife, ready to defend herself against the intruder, but her scowl vanished when she caught sight of TaeYeon—a girl around her own age, albeit slightly shorter.

"You shouldn't be here," the girl said. The hand holding the arrow was down by her side. "This wood is sacred to the Moon Goddess."

TaeYeon disregarded the warning with an easy smile. She walked further until they were a few feet away from each other, then leaned forward, as if to share a secret. "Then neither should you."

The girl opened , but closed it again. She had no counter to that. Red crept up on her cheeks.

"What's your name?"

"MiYoung."

"I'm TaeYeon. Let's make this our secret, MiYoung." TaeYeon offered her pinky. "Let's not tell anyone that we have been here. I'll keep yours as long as you keep mine."

MiYoung hesitated. She sealed the deal by lacing her pinky with TaeYeon, all the while muttering a prayer begging for forgiveness from the Moon Goddess. TaeYeon heard her loud and clear.

-

MiYoung watched in awe as TaeYeon manipulated the bow and nocked an arrow with ease. She pulled her arm backwards until the string stretched to its fullness. In the next blink, the arrow shot forward, whistling through the air before it hit the tree stump MiYoung had chosen as its target.

"Can you teach me?" MiYoung bounded forward. She was still tugging at her chiton, but her eyes were wide and begging. "Please?"

TaeYeon couldn't say no to such an earnest request, so she didn't. That was how they ended up meeting in the same place the next day, the day after, and the day after that. Neither of them asked anything intimate about each other, but TaeYeon knew for sure that MiYoung was at least part of the nobility class, if not more. All she cared about was that MiYoung was an enthusiastic student. TaeYeon fixed her form, told her to keep her feet apart to ground herself better, and to keep her shoulders relaxed. They still hadn't gotten to shooting yet, but after hundreds or so practice of nocking an arrow and pulling the string, MiYoung was already sprawled on the grass, sweat crowning her forehead and not caring about her chiton riding up her thighs. TaeYeon gave in.

"Why archery?" TaeYeon asked, setting the arrow next to the quiver against a tree. "The axe is more popular and easier to wield."

MiYoung made a face. "Axe is messy." She went quiet for a moment. "I wish to win the favor of the Moon Goddess."

"She has been protecting you since birth," TaeYeon reminded, her fingers tingling.

Infant mortality was high. Babies only got introduced to the family on the fifth or seventh day after birth out of fear that they wouldn't make it that far. Then many wouldn't make it through childhood. She could tell that MiYoung, with her clean linen dress and washed hair, had been particularly blessed.

"I'd like to be in her retinue."

A smile blossomed on TaeYeon's lips at the confession. She held a special place for young girls and women who shared her values. "Is marriage not to your taste?" She asked gently. MiYoung had a few years before nuptials should be her concern, but the frown pulled tight on her face.

MiYoung sat up. "It's not my decision to make."

Even as she said so, fiddling with the hem of her chiton, MiYoung's expression was puckered like she just bit on a lime. While what she said was true, TaeYeon had to disagree. After all, she appealed to her father to remain chaste a long time ago, and he abided by her wish.

"It is always your choice, MiYoung." TaeYeon fetched the bow and the quiver, urging MiYoung to stand up, which she did without protest. "You should practice harder if you want to join the Moon Goddess."

-

Seasons went by. When spring came with blossoms, so did MiYoung. Her hair was longer than the last time TaeYeon saw her, just before winter forced people to take shelter at home. TaeYeon adjusted by 'growing' along with her, only a couple years away from finally matching her real looks.

"Have you ever gone hunting?"

MiYoung huffed. "Never."

"Would you like to?"

MiYoung looked around their little clearing. Their target stump was riddled with so many holes that it no longer resembled a tree. Not far from it, a bunny hopped into a berry bush. If MiYoung's squinted, she could see a doe and her fawn a bit deeper in the woods. Her lips thinned.

"Not here," she said with finality. "I don't want to anger the Moon Goddess."

TaeYeon didn't bother to hide her pleased smile. "Do you know any other woods nearby, then?"

For a brief moment, MiYoung looked uncomfortable, but eventually she nodded and shared about the other forest north of the nearby town.

"We don't have to hunt if you don't want to," TaeYeon reminded gently, just before they were going to start their trek to the other woods. It would take the whole day to travel by foot, and they would have to stay overnight. She wondered if MiYoung didn't want to worry her family. "Or we can meet there before the moon hides for the day."

MiYoung was perceptive enough to decipher TaeYeon's real meaning. "It's alright. My household," eyes wide, she quickly amended, "My family, we are a big one. Nobody will notice if I'm gone for the night." She punctuated her statement with a shrug, as if it wasn't a big deal.

This time, it was TaeYeon's turn to frown, but she didn't pry. Throughout the moons, they had been friends, and it had become an unspoken pact to leave their personal lives outside the sacred woods. Within, they were just TaeYeon and MiYoung, the best of friends. The moment MiYoung worried at the hem of her chiton, TaeYeon knew something was bothering her. She arched a brow, and MiYoung sighed. They too had mastered the ability of silent communication, something novel that TaeYeon cherished quite a lot.

"I'd like to offer my first game to the Moon Goddess." MiYoung sighed. "But her temple is on the south side of the town. And just thinking about hunting a game for her already makes me nervous. What if I failed? She will never take notice of me then."

She did notice you was what TaeYeon wanted to say, but instead she settled on a simple assurance: "You'd do great; you have a great teacher."

MiYoung rolled her eyes as she bumped her shoulder against TaeYeon, whose grin was smug.

(MiYoung caught a rabbit, not as big as the one in the sacred woods. She prayed for the Moon Goddess' guide before shooting the arrow. And again, when she had to cut the rabbit's throat to end its suffering, her arrow cut through its hindlimb but didn't kill it right away. With blood on her hands, tears on her face, and a whispered apology on her lips, TaeYeon watched MiYoung turn from a determined teenager into a resolved young woman, no longer awkward in her own body.)

-

It began with an inscription on a golden apple. For the most beautiful, it said. Vain goddesses squabbled over it. The king of gods put a hapless mortal prince to judge. The goddess of love promised the most beautiful woman on earth, and he took the deal and easily proclaimed her as the rightful recipient of the apple. Then war broke out.

Their little sanctuary was untouched for some time, even as the local kings, princes, and demigods were called upon a gathering. Long ago, when many were vying for the most beautiful woman's hand in marriage, her father bound them all by an oath to protect her should she be taken away, and now he has requested that promise. Quickly, with that many invoking the gods for blessings, it spread beyond the mortal realm. TaeYeon hated that she couldn't be at two places at once.

"TaeYeon..."

MiYoung's expression had sombered down the longer the war went, but it was particularly sad then. TaeYeon didn't know if she had a family joining in the war.

"I can't come out here anymore," MiYoung whispered, struggling to articulate the words. She went on to confirm TaeYeon's suspicions: "My father—he is called to fight. My brother was lost long ago, so it's only me. I have to help my mother in the house."

As awful as it seemed, TaeYeon was happy in a twisted way. It was unfair and belittling of MiYoung's skills, simply because of her gender, but it soothed TaeYeon to know that MiYoung, as a woman, wouldn't be sent out to fight the war. She would have to stay at home instead, where she would be safe from harm or any god's wrath. She knew better than to share any of these with her.

"It's quite alright," TaeYeon said, after timing a well-placed pause and schooling her expression to match MiYoung's. "Once this is all over, I shall find you."

TaeYeon offered her pinky, a reminiscence of their first promise. That might feel so long ago for MiYoung, whose upset lifted even only for a moment as she linked their pinky together. But she didn't end it there. Once their fingers disconnected from each other, she threw her arms around TaeYeon's shoulders, hiding her face in the crook of her neck.

TaeYeon was stunned at first, unused to being touched without her permission, and managed to rein in her instinct to smite MiYoung for the breach. But this was her best friend, her mentee, who had no idea of who she really was. So she wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her closer, hoping that despite the way their chests pressed against each other, MiYoung wouldn't notice her lack of heartbeat and breathing. MiYoung didn't. Her body began to shake lightly. TaeYeon felt the tears before a sob tore through her friend, and she squeezed her. For a moment, her eyes flicked back to their natural color.

"By the Styx, I swear I will find you."

-

TaeYeon sat on a sturdy branch of an old tree. It was located on the mountain in the center of her woods. The treacherous terrain and wide rivers had kept the place isolated from mortals.

She watched her nymphs bathe in the shallow stream; hushed words and light giggles floated among them, and she thought of MiYoung. Did she still wish to join her retinue? She never mentioned it anymore, despite her continuous prayers and sacrifices to the Moon Goddess. TaeYeon was sure MiYoung would get along well with her nymphs, and they would be enamoured by the hunter. There was an itch at such a thought. It had been only the two of them for years—TaeYeon and MiYoung. She was not one to be overly possessive of her retinue, but the image of her own nymphs clamoring over her MiYoung sparked a flame under her skin, enough for her to smite her whole retinue if she had to. She'd have to review it again much later. For now, she had an impending war to attend.

She had been sharpening her arrowheads, unnecessary as it was, when her twin brother's voice penetrated her mind.

Have you heard, dear sister? KiBum's voice echoed. A sacred deer of yours was shot and taken without permission.

TaeYeon clenched the arrow she was tending to, and the head sparked. By whom?

The King.

It was odd that KiBum was being straightforward for once. He, through his priestesses, was known to confound people with prophecies more than help them. There must be something that he wanted; TaeYeon just didn't know what.

He is hosting a farewell party for the heroes, he said, his voice smooth as though he were whispering right into her ear. They are to embark on a journey to regain the most beautiful woman, promised to the Prince of Jeju by the Goddess of Love.

There was no need for TaeYeon to hide her disdain. The foolish mortals, unaware of being pawns for the gods. They can try, she scoffed. Raising her right hand with her fingers spread wide apart, she suddenly made it into a tight fist, as though she were crushing a bug in it. I've forbidden the winds to help their sail.

KiBum cackled in glee before he was gone, and TaeYeon ignored the nagging feeling that she'd fallen right into his scheme.

-

TaeYeon was surprised to see MiYoung, although at the same time, she really wasn't. The sibling dynamic between her and KiBum was an odd one. He was, in a way, her exact opposite. He lived with abandon, taking male and female alike, yet never finding satisfaction in any of his dalliances. He loathed it so that she had followers who, just like her, swore off any ual relationship. He thought of her as foolish for not taking anyone to warm her bed; thus, at the slightest hint of interest, he would force her hand: give them up to death or claim them. Normally, she would be amused by his trickery, so sure that no being was worthy enough of her affection.

And for the moment, she was. She was content to watch from the sidelines, leaning against the wall inside her own temple. Her presence remained undetected by mere human eyes. MiYoung marched to the altar like it was her execution. At any moment, once MiYoung realized there was no blushing groom waiting to take her hand, TaeYeon expected her to break into a run. MiYoung was capable of taking down full-grown mercenaries; this ragtag band of heroes was no match for her.

TaeYeon couldn't hide her smirk when MiYoung halted. The men around her were suspended all the same; some fiddled with their sidearms while others looked at each other for support. This was it. TaeYeon leaned forward just as MiYoung faced her father with a slight questioning tilt of her head. The king lowered his head at his daughter's accusative stare, but no words were exchanged. TaeYeon saw the moment it downed on MiYoung—eyes narrowed in betrayal, jaws set, shoulders squared, and her stance widened to provide better support. She was ready to fight. Pride swelled in TaeYeon's chest.

Yet her next words contradicted her posture: "It is the Moon Goddess' wish," and with that, she climbed and laid upon the altar.

It was not about winning the war, the wounded pride of men, or even getting that wind to set sail. It was MiYoung's enduring loyalty to her goddess. TaeYeon watched her most cherished companion shut her eyes, tension melting off her body. It was supposed to be an honorable death, sacrificed in her name. She wondered if KiBum had known who MiYoung actually was from the start, if this turn of events had been his goal for whispering lies in the priest's ear, and if this was her punishment for whatever slight she did to him.

Frozen on her spot, she saw the puppet priest step up to the altar, an ornate dagger in his hand. He began chanting prayers as his free hand cupped MiYoung's chin to tilt her head up, exposing the soft length of her neck. The sharp edge of the blade posed against vulnerable throat while the priest wrapped up his prayer, none was heard by TaeYeon. The king looked away, trembling like the coward he was.

The moment pressure was applied and the dagger broke MiYoung's skin, drawing a drop of blood, TaeYeon acted. She was so tempted to put the foolish priest in MiYoung's place, but settled on taking his tongue instead. In a flash of blinding light, a deer took MiYoung's stead, bleating no more as the dagger cut its throat. TaeYeon paid no mind to the chaos that ensued. She did gift them with the wind they so wished, lest they misinterpret her again.

-

MiYoung felt the tip of the dagger dig in and the sting when it broke her skin. She drew one last breath, ready to accept death's embrace, until suddenly the pressure changed. All in a blink of an eye. She exhaled, bewildered, when she no longer felt the knife or the cold stone of the altar underneath. Was she dead?

She hadn't dared to open her eyes yet. She was sitting somehow, blades of grass grazing her ankles and the dew dampening her long dress skirt. There were arms wrapped around her. A familiar body against her own. The smell of wood and rain reminded her of the sacred woods. The body pulled back, MiYoung held on to stop them from going away, and she finally opened her eyes.

"TaeYeon?" She blinked a few times, expecting the view to change, but it remained. They were in their clearing in the woods. If she looked to the right, she'd see the tree stump that they used as target practice; some of the arrows were still stuck on its decaying trunk. "Am I dead?" She asked, reaching for her neck, expecting it to be severed open and gushing in red.

TaeYeon chuckled. She caught MiYoung's hand before she could touch her neck. "No, you're very much alive." She pressed the tips of her own fingers on the small cut instead.

MiYoung hissed when new pain shot from the wound and spred through her veins like raging fire. Her instinct told her to claw TaeYeon's hand away, but her endless trust in her best friend was stronger. Unwilling to hurt her, she gripped the front of TaeYeon's dress instead. She wouldn't scream. She wasn't weak. She endured by gritting her teeth and shedding tears on the corners of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She was stronger than this. She'd survive. When the pain eventually receded, she slumped forward into TaeYeon, dazed and distorted like she had been turned inside out.

"Princess Hwang MiYoung," TaeYeon whispered against the side of her head. MiYoung swore she heard it echo in her mind and throughout the woods. She sounded different, more regal. "For your bravery and sacrifice, I grant you your wish to be my eternal companion."

It didn't make any sense for MiYoung, not right away. Her head was still swimming with her father's trickery and his easy willingness to give up her life to fix his mistake, her near-death experience, the apparent teleportation, and whatever TaeYeon just did to her.

How did her best friend even know of her true identity? She was sure she had never slipped that information. Finally allowed to touch her neck, she found that the shallow injury was all healed. Her fingerpads came back coated in gold. What did TaeYeon just do to her? Why did her body feel warm and revitalized? Like she could run to Busan and back without breaking a sweat? What did TaeYeon mean by my eternal companion?

TaeYeon held on her chin to tilt her head up, and her confusion cleared up the moment their eyes met.

TaeYeon's eyes were silver.

MiYoung blinked. At first, she thought herself delirious, but TaeYeon's eyes remained in their unusual shade. They were shimmering, like the full moon reflected on the surface of the pond. Like the Moon Goddess'.

Oh.

"Your—" MiYoung swallowed; was dry as a desert. How should one address the best friend they sort of grew up with, who turned out to be the very goddess they worshipped their whole life? "Your eternal companion?" Her voice was low, tinged with disbelief.

"Is it no longer your wish?" TaeYeon's rogue grin was familiar, despite the color of her eyes. "I thought about honoring your death by putting you in the sky." She wiped the sweat on MiYoung's forehead, then tucked the stray strands behind an ear. Her smile was a fond one. "My brave hunter, immortalized as a constellation. But I..." She sighed, frowning for a fleeting moment as though it physically pained her. "I prefer to have you by my side."

"You changed me..." MiYoung glanced at the gold on her fingers, rubbing them together and finding it thick and sticky. Like the blood of gods. "Into a god?"

"A minor one," TaeYeon added. She didn't have that much power to turn MiYoung into a major one. "I bound your life force to mine, but you're still free to do anything you wish."

For moments, MiYoung gazed at her fingers. At her new apparent status as an immortal. At a life for eternity. When she looked up, her brown irises were adorned with halos of silver. She smiled at her best friend, her mentor, and her goddess.

"I have no other wish than to stay by your side."