It had been two weeks since Tessa’s disagreement with Jungkook. They had gone from arguing over their futures on a daily basis to hardly speaking at all. Their last discussion ended how it always did, despite the new informations that Tessa’s brother was alive and could be reached by her. Tessa had given up hope on seeing her older brother again the moment he ran away to join the Scarlet Guard. She resented the organization and not even the possibility of being reunited with Jimin could change her mind. They were dangerous and unpredictable. 

  Tessa stalked down the narrow streets of the Grove slyly reaching her hand into the pockets of unsuspected Reds to steal a few pennies more. It had torn her apart to see her best friend so emotionally distant. Tessa kept a closer eye on Jungkook as the days to his enlistment grew fewer. She worried he would run off in the middle of the night on a whim, hoping to find the Scarlet Guard, effectively leaving her alone with no one left to love her. 

   Turning onto a less populated street, Tessa began to think about the day she would have to see Jungkook off. The guards would come for him like they have so many others, stealing him from his family, and leaving only heartbreak and sorrow. Knowing Jungkook, he would refuse to go without a show. Tessa imagined tears cascading down his face as he told his family he loved them. She pictured the hurt in his voice when he would tell her he would stop at nothing to find her again. She thought about it day and night, mapping out every little detail, down to the footprints left in the mud after he was whisked off to fight an impossible war. How she hated the thought of those footprints. The only remaining sign he had been there. The only thing she had left to remember him. 

    Tessa was reminded of her absent brother. She had nothing to remember Jimin by, other than their last days together before he escaped to the Scarlet Guard. Of course she hadn’t known they were to be her last days with her brother. He left without telling her. He ran away from home without leaving her anything to remember him by. This memory pulled Tessa from her thoughts. She didn’t want to sacrifice her last days with Jungkook over a silly argument.

    Turning on her heels, Tessa quickly made her way to the small, two bedroom bungalow Jungkook’s family lived in. She was determined to mend their relationship, returning to the way things were, at least until he was ripped from her arms by the Silvers.     

    She slowly approached the bungalow, rehearsing what she would say in her head. She walked up to the door, turning back to look at the footprints. She would one day see similar footprints in this very spot only these footprints would only go in one direction, away. Away from everything she knew, away from everything safe. Tessa knocked on the door four times, a signal she and Jungkook had made when they were younger in order to alert the other of their presence. 

    Several minutes passed by before the door slowly swung open. Instead of seeing the cheery smile of her best friend, Tessa was met with the blood shot eyes of his mother. It was clear that she had been crying for several hours, only managing to calm her tears enough to see who was at the door.

    She ushered Tessa into her home, motioning for her to sit on one of the chairs set up in their living room. Only the wealthiest of Reds could afford a couch. 

    The silence was almost unbearable. The longer it lasted, the more Tessa’s thoughts ran wild. Had he been caught stealing? Had he been put in jail?…Is he dead? Her imagination couldn't be silenced. 

    As she continued exploring the possibilities, the soft whimpers of Jungkook’s mom returned her to the present. “Where is Jungkook?” Tessa asked. “I-I thought he was here. The last time I saw him he was on his way back here.” Tessa stated with little confidence. Was that the last time she saw him? Could he be in trouble somewhere, hoping against hope that she would get him out? 

    Jungkook’s mother was unable to form a response over her choked out sobs. She silently passed Tessa a folded paper sitting on the table. Tessa opened the paper, expecting the worst, however, there was nothing that could have prepared her for what she would read. Scribbled on the paper was a letter Jungkook had written for his family. The final sentence caught Tessa’s eye. As she read the words in her head, her heart immediately dropped, and tears began welling in her eyes.

I am leaving to join the Scarlet Guard. 

    Layla was pulled from her trance by the sound of silverware clanging against ceramic plates. Following the Harvest, Layla’s family had been invited to dine with the King and his family. They sat in the largest dining room in the palace, munching on the exquisite food set in front of them. One of the perks of being a part of one of the most powerful families in the country was the incredible food made especially for you. 

    Layla scanned the table, quickly spotting her brother across from her, sitting next to Jin. The two were close and could often be found goofing off with each other, damaging expensive relics and laughing over it.

    Currently Namjoon was using his ability to heat the soup set in front of him. Jin seemed amused, however, Layla knew the destruction this would result in seeing as she had grown up with it all her life. Layla called his name attempting to get his attention to chew him out for using his powers at such an inappropriate time. His eyes rose, locking with Layla’s. If looks could kill, Namjoon would have been blown into oblivion. Instead of ceasing his activity as anyone else would, he simply rolled his eyes and continued shooting small sparks from the tip of his fingers.

    As if on cue, Namjoon lost control of the sparks. A flame shot from his hand, aimed directly at the plate of h’orderves idly sitting in front of him. The food instantly caught on fire, causing Namjoon to curse in shock. Jin burst into laughter as Namjoon scrambled to put the fire out. 

    The King was facing away from the ordeal, in deep conversation with Layla’s father, not noticing the fire that had erupted on his dining room table. With a flick of the wrist, Layla guided the water filling the pitcher in front of her over the flames. She quickly put out the fire, earning a look of relief from her brother. 

    From across the table, Layla heard a soft giggle from Yoongi. She looked over at him, examining the smirk on his face. To see the boy express so much emotion in one day was unbelievable. Layla sent a small smile his way, realizing the humor of the situation. Yoongi’s smile slowly faded, however, he maintained eye contact with Layla. 

    His eyes were focused in what Layla assumed was him prodding her mind for information. What she didn’t know, however, was that Yoongi was yet again unable to break down the barriers set up in her mind. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration as he tried even harder to hear the thoughts circulating Layla’s mind. Like always, he was unable to will the thoughts out of her head. A smile grew on his face as he looked at Layla. She was a fascinating creature. The only mind he cared to read was the only one he couldn’t access. 

    Before Layla could respond to his beaming smile, a loud explosion sounded from somewhere within the palace. The room grew quiet as nobody could muster up the courage to speak. Suddenly, a guard burst through the door frantically. 

    “The palace is under attack.” he choked out. “I was sent to you all to a safe location.” he added, a look of terror present in his eyes. Before anyone could move from their place at the table, a gunshot rang through the room. The guard fell to his knees as blood oozed from his abdomen. 

    A crowd of people filtered into the dining room, all holding guns and sporting the symbol of the Scarlet Guard on their uniforms. A terrorist attack, Layla thought. This was an attempt to assassinate the King. To murder the royal Silvers. Layla wanted to support the resistance but even she would admit that violence was no way to gain equality. 

    Before the soldiers could raise their guns, the King broke large chunks of iron from the walls, hurling it directly at the group of rebels with a small movement of his hand. The rebels acted quickly, dodging the ball of iron barreling towards them. The rebels then dashed towards the table, guns raised. The Silvers that had been previously sitting at the table shot from their seats. Instead of running, they stayed where they were, determined to beat the group that had destroyed the palace and planned on taking their lives.

    Layla turned to her brother only to see flames shoot from his hands towards a rebel that had been running towards him, gun poised and ready to fire. The young soldier fell to the floor, presumably dead. Layla turned back around only to see a member of the Scarlet Guard quickly approaching her, a knife in one of her hands, ready to be used on Layla. Layla proceeded to lift the glass pitcher off the table with her mind and smashing it on the girl’s head. The girl fell to the floor, landing on shards of glass from the broken pitcher. 

    More and more members of the Scarlet Guard entered the room. The battle was undeniably unbalanced even with the Silvers’ unmatched abilities. Layla scanned her surroundings. She noticed her father fighting off three soldier. He motioned towards the table with his hand. Suddenly, all of the water that had been set out on the table rose from it’s idle position. Her father manipulated the water, turning it into a whip that slashed across the faces of the rebels in front of him. 

    Layla’s father was quickly knocked from her vision when a rebel lurched at her, pinning her on the floor. She wasn’t sure what hurt more, the shards of glass digging into her back or the fist colliding with her face repeatedly. The rebel began kicking her in the stomach, causing shrieks of pain to escape her lips. Just as the tears began streaming from her eyes, the rebel stopped. Layla opened her eyes, looking up at the assailant to discover why she had stopped, why she hadn’t beaten her to death.

    The rebel was locked in place, arms glued to her sides. Her face expressed nothing but terror as her eyes violently searched the room. Before Layla could rise from her spot, she saw Yoongi approaching her. He was using his power to stop the soldier from further hurting Layla. The relief she felt moments before, was quickly ripped away as she realized Yoongi would have no mercy on the terrorist. He would kill this Red for what she had done and although Layla didn’t condone the acts of violence carried out by the Scarlet Guard, she would never wish for the death of another human being.

    Instead of killing the soldier where she stood, Yoongi reached his hand out to Layla, offering to help her up. She lightly grasped his soft hand and stood up. He proceeded to examine the bruises forming on her face. Although Layla was appreciative of his caring actions, but she couldn’t help but feel there was a better time for this. There were still dozens of rebels fighting their family members and it was safe to assume there were more on the way. 

    Just as this thought popped into her head, the members of the Scarlet Guard that had been shooting at the Silvers moments earlier ceased their movement, arms glued to their sides. Without looking away from Layla, Yoongi called the guards in to restrain the terrorists. Layla was shocked at the kindness he showed. Surely any Red that attempted to kill his own father deserved to die in Yoongi’s mind. 

    In a matter of minutes, the entire group of rebels was lined up on their knees, arms tied behind their backs. 

     “I want to know who led this attack.” the King’s stern voice bellowed out.

    Without hesitation, a young man with brown hair rose from his spot. He stared the King straight in the eyes as he responded. “I did.” he answered firmly.

    “And what is your name?” the King questioned him venomously.

    “Hoseok. Jung Hoseok.”