Completely unperturbed by the question, Eun Mi looked back at the injured man on her bed and then back at Yong-Soo.  “This is Siwon.  The water Elementalist,” she added for good measure when he still looked skeptical.

                Yong-Soo’s eyes looked from Siwon to Eun Mi and back, his gaze skeptical before the other man pulled the amulet out from his shirt to validate the claim.  Brown eyes widened in surprise and he focused on the young woman.  “You could have warned me,” he whispered quietly as he leaned close to her, trying not to draw additional attention to himself.

                Eun Mi shrugged as she glanced back at Siwon with an unreadable expression before focusing on Yong-Soo again.  “I found him when I was refilling the water stores at the river this morning,” she explained, slightly annoyed at having to offer an explanation.

                “Found him?” the young man asked, clearly moderately distressed.

                She nodded in answer and gestured to the corner that still had his pack.  “He was half-drowned and waterlogged but breathing.”  At Yong-Soo’s frown she rolled her eyes.  “I was careful.  There was room in the cart for him and the water,” she muttered.

                “Aish!” he exclaimed with a hand over his face.  To hear his cousin carting an Elementalist about like so much cargo…

                Siwon watched the exchange with a growing sense of amusement and confusion.  At last, he cleared his throat as it seemed they had forgotten about him.  “Excuse me,” he interjected firmly, satisfied when both their heads turned.  “I’m a bit confused,” he admitted, looking from one person to the other, trying to figure out their vastly different points of view.

                Yong-Soo looked mildly aggrieved.  Hurriedly, he pushed the brace of dead birds he had been carrying in his other hand at Eun Mi.  “Take care of these,” he sighed with a lamentable shake of his head.

                “Hey!” she cried indignantly, fuming at being dismissed so easily.  Grumbling under her breath, she stomped outside to go clean them.

                He waited until she had closed the door behind her before he moved to take a seat next to Siwon’s bed with a mixture of uncertainty and awe.  “Forgive me, Siwon, sir,” he started awkwardly, bowing while seated on the stool.  “My name is Yong-Soo,” he offered his hand in greeting, pleased when the Elementalist accepted it firmly.

                Taken aback by the considerably different reaction, Siwon looked out the window to see Eun Mi busily working at her task and then glanced back at the newcomer.  “It is nice to meet you?” he started somewhat uncertainly.

                Yong-Soo seemed to understand his uncertainty and he sighed as his gaze looked out the window as well.  “I am sorry, Master Siwon.  I am guessing she hasn’t told you anything…”  His voice trailed off in silent query.  Siwon shook his head, his expression guarded.  “No.  I suppose she wouldn’t,” Yong-Soo breathed, somewhat annoyed.  “Undoubtedly you have many questions.  Please.  If I may be of assistance, I would like to help,” he assured the young man.  He appeared to be of a similar age to him, and Yong-Soo figured he might actually be older.  Still, he knew well that age had little to do with one’s power.

                Still slightly overwhelmed, Siwon simply repeated the question she had avoided earlier.  “Why is she…are you…why would you help me?” he stumbled.

                The young man took a second to think it over and then went on, “Initially, the Healer’s Code.  Her mother drilled it in her early,” Yong-Soo laughed lightly.  “With some exceptions, you don’t leave an injured person to die,” he explained.

Siwon nodded in understanding at that, as Eleanara had a similar tendency that had only become more prominent as she came into her power.  “So her mother is a healer too?” he asked, sending another curious glance at the strange young woman outside.

                “Yes.  She is an herbalist in Port Corley,” he explained.  “While her mother runs the shop, Eun Mi comes here to gather and prepare herbs every couple months.  Sedgewood forest has an abundance of supplies they use and sell but it takes time to get them ready.  So we spend a few weeks out here and then go home when we’re done,” he explained with a shrug, his nervousness starting to fade the more he spoke with the elementalist.

                At the sensible explanation, Siwon felt himself relax a bit more.  He had to wonder why Yong-Soo was so open with information where Eun Mi hadn’t been but he was getting to that.  “You said initially she helped me for the Healer’s Code.  Why else?”

                Yong-Soo nodded at that question and pulled back his right sleeve to reveal a decorative wrist cuff.  When he removed that, Siwon could see the same symbol on the inside of his wrist that Summer wore around her neck and the symbol on Enrhyll’s pennants.  Alarm flared to life within him and he met the young man’s gaze warily, his muscles tensing automatically.  “It’s alright,” Yong-Soo urged him, holding his hands up so that he could see he wasn’t going to try anything.  “Enrhyll stole the symbol for himself,” he explained swiftly.  “It belongs to the Order of the Elements.”

                It felt as if Siwon had been hit in the head with a brick.  Carefully, he focused on the symbol again and then forced himself to take another breath.  Summer was not the only one to wear that symbol.  In the monastery, they had seen it with Sinrielle in the burial chamber.  None of them had paid attention to it at the time, but Yoogin had said that she was originally from the Elementalist Order.  “Both of you?” he asked uncertainly.  That definitely explained why she was nonplussed with him…

                “Enrhyll was one of our members until he got his power,” Yong-Soo sighed, still puzzled by how that had come about.

                “And now that he has power, he’s still nothing more than a murdering bastard,” Eun Mi muttered darkly from the window, startling both of them.

                Yong-Soo regarded her with a familiar annoyed frown.  “If you’re done, come inside to talk.”

                “Almost,” she grumbled as she removed herself from the window reluctantly, still visibly seething.

                At Siwon’s baffled look, Yong-Soo went on to explain, “Enrhyll’s father was the Head Priest of our Order.  Somehow, Enrhyll gained the power of the elements about two years ago.  Around that time, he murdered the Head Priest.”

Siwon’s frown was severe as he went over the implications of that in his mind.  If Enrhyll had come from this order, then he would have been familiar with the elements already.  That certainly helped to explain his working knowledge of them…especially if he was able to create the constructs they had to fight.  But how did he get the power?  The bodies of the Elementalists had been watched over for hundreds of years in the Northsage Monastery and it was their spiritual presence that had imparted the power to them.  “And so he thought himself a god?”

                Yong-Soo laughed bitterly at that question.  “Master Shin was always overly fond of Enrhyll.  His attention did little to hinder his son’s sense of self-importance.”

                Eun Mi’s frown was equally fierce as she stepped back inside and caught the tail end of that conversation.  “That spoiled brat has always had a big head and father never could see it,” she stated angrily, covering immediately after the words slipped out.

                It took a moment for the statement to sink in and while Yong-Soo did not react any differently, Siwon felt his world shift slightly.  “You’re his sister?” he asked in disbelief.

                “Half,” she spat quickly, a vague sense of self-loathing behind the word.

                Yong-Soo got up slowly and helped to guide Eun Mi to the fireplace, closing the trapdoor first, where he then worked with her for a few minutes to get the stew started.  It gave her time to calm down and Siwon time to pull himself together after that news.  At least he was born a human…

                When the silence became almost oppressive, Yong-Soo returned and picked up where he had left off.  “We don’t believe he knows some of the Order survived.  He did destroy our temple…well, gathering place really, in Lornhaldt but the rest of us just lay low.”

                Still stunned by each new revelation, Siwon sat, dumbfounded by how little he knew.  Granted, it probably wasn’t widely known knowledge but as an Elementalist, he thought that maybe the Monastery would have had some sort of information…  But maybe not, since they were only the caretakers of the Elementalists’ bodies.

                “Given what we know, for us to see you, an actual Elementalist, means a great deal,” Yong-Soo breathed, new hope in his eyes.  “You’ve come to fight him, haven’t you?” he asked quietly, instantly perturbed when Eun Mi piped up behind him.

                “A great lot of good he’ll do banged up like he is and missing the others,” she muttered.

                Yong-Soo rolled his eyes and stood up to glare down at his younger cousin.  Quickly, he reached out to smack her on the back of the head sharply.  “Show some respect,” he chided angrily as she winced and held her head with both hands.

                Siwon grimaced at her words and then sighed at the demand for respect.  She wasn’t exactly wrong in her assumption but the fact he was alive was saying a great deal.  “Please,” he started, holding up his hand beseechingly.  “I am grateful for her care and your answers, but she’s not exactly wrong.”  It bothered him to admit it, but without the others, there was very little he could do by himself.  “The others are alive, but I don’t know where…”

                Vindicated, Eun Mi glared at her cousin who seemed slightly put off.  After a moment, he added, “It must have taken a great deal for you to become separated.”

                “You could say that,” Siwon answered with a heavy sigh.

                “Perhaps you would be able to explain a bit more after we eat?” Yong-Soo asked politely, already heading back to check on the stew.

                “I’ll get it,” Eun Mi offered, rushing past him instead.  Yong-Soo shrugged but let her take care of it as was her wont.

                With a half-smile and a nod, Siwon agreed, “That I could.”

                Over the course of the afternoon, Siwon was able to explain the events that had led him to his current state.  As he described their fight with the construct and was able to impart the power of the creature they were against, he watched awe come over Yong-Soo, but it was Eun Mi’s reaction that intrigued him more.  When he had first started speaking, she had listened, fairly detached from the telling.  The more he spoke though, the more she paid attention and the more thoughtful she became as she regarded him carefully.

                When he had recounted his surprise at waking up at all, she had scoffed, “A water Elementalist can’t drown.  That’s just silly.”

                “Oh?” Yong-Soo has asked before Siwon could.  “And how do you know?”

                Eun Mi looked around uncomfortably before she answered, “I don’t.  But how else do you explain it?”  Her answer prompted laughter from both of the men, to her consternation.  “Well, how would you explain it?” she demanded after a moment.

                “I like your thought,” Siwon admitted with a genuine smile.

                “Oh,” Eun Mi stated simply, looking slightly confounded at his admission and somewhat pleased.

                “Indeed,” Yong-Soo chuckled.

                Distractedly, Siwon glanced out the window and noticed it was considerably later than he had thought.  The sun was starting to set already.  “Yong-Soo.  Do you think you could hand me that water bowl?” he asked plaintively, pointing at the bowl he had used earlier for scrying.

                “Of course,” Yong-Soo nodded with a half-bow as he retrieved the bowl and handed it off.

                Carefully, Siwon accepted the dish and then focused intently on the faces of his friends as he had found them earlier today.  It was still distracting having others watch him but it wasn’t so bad as before since he had gotten a feel for it at the time.  Leeteuk shimmered into view, sitting next to a fire and roasting something.  After a moment, Kharin walked into view and settled across from him on the other side of the fire, damp but well.  Leeteuk’s ankle was still bound and they looked in decent spirits.  That at least made him somewhat relieved to know.

                He focused on Eleanara and Kyuhyun next and as before, the former continued to drift off and then catch up but at least they were still together.  They looked tired though.  While he was glad that he could see they were okay, he hoped fervently that was actually the case.  Both looked a bit haggard where the other two had seemed at least in better spirits.

                Reluctantly, he shifted his focus to the last two and then looked at the bowl, perplexed.  The pair were riding in the back of a cart.  When did that happen?  And where were they going?  Slowly, he let the focus shift back to see if he would be able to get a better view of the area they were in and was surprised when he panned out enough to see another relatively large group of people on horses on the main road.  Fortunately, it appeared that Summer and Eunhyuk were not on the same path, but when he focused in on the other group, he swallowed hard.  It was a horse mounted patrol…  That was new.  They did not seem to notice the cart moving away from them.

                “What’s wrong?” Eun Mi asked softly, watching the concern play across his face.

                Siwon shook his head slightly as he pushed the bowl away, clearing his vision.  “I don’t know if it’s just coincidence or bad luck, but I saw one of Enrhyll’s patrols near two of my companions.”  His eyes were haunted as he turned to look at the pair.

                “That’s not entirely unusual,” Yong-Soo shrugged.  “He’s been sending patrols out all over the place.  Though lately, they have been a bit scarce,” he added with a look of confusion.

                “We’ve run into a couple of them, but never a horse mounted patrol,” Siwon explained, still puzzling it out.

                Eun Mi and Yong-Soo exchanged concerned glances.  Most of the patrols were footmen that had been recruited and sent out to help pacify rambunctious areas.  A mounted patrol was typically only used by the Imperial guards on specific missions…  “Odd…” she murmured, he expression concerned.

                “Very,” Yong-Soo agreed as he stood up and pointedly headed for the door.  Easily, he slipped outside, closing the door behind him quietly.  Siwon and Eun Mi exchanged curious glances.  Just before she could step outside to see what he was doing, her cousin hurried back inside and bolted for the trap door in front of the fireplace.  “!” he gasped.

                Thoroughly alarmed, Eun Mi hurried over to his side.  “What’s wrong?!”

                “The Imperial Guard!” he explained in a tight voice.  Both Siwon and Eun Mi paled.  “They must have split their forces,” he muttered to himself as he hurried over to Siwon’s bed.  “Come on,” he gestured, grabbing the still injured man and hauling him forcefully to his feet.  A pained groan escaped the elementalist as his body refused to cooperate but he grit his teeth and followed along weakly.  “Eun Mi.  Get his pack,” Yong-Soo gestured agitatedly as he half-carried, half-dragged the other man to the stairs and hobbled down.

                “Okay!” she gasped, sprinting for the back corner where the pack was still resting.  It was heavier than it looked and the maul dragged stubbornly behind her but she managed to haul it to the opening.  Yong-Soo was there to retrieve it and he quickly carried it down before he came back up to retrieve Eun Mi.

                “You stay here with him,” he told her firmly, giving her a look that would brook no argument.

                Simple fear latched onto her and she held tightly to his hand.  “But what about you?” she asked hurriedly, glancing down at the dark enclosure Siwon was in.

                “They saw me already.  A small contingent was heading our way while the larger force continued on the main road.  Hurry.  They’ll be here any minute,” he explained as he pulled her down into the stairway and then moved back up, quickly lowering the door back over them.  Fortunately, the trap door did not have a typical handle as they did not want just anyone able to find it.  A small indent at the edge of the door was just enough to give their fingers purchase but not enough to draw undue attention…or so they hoped.

                Eun Mi scampered down and found Siwon located at the back of the storeroom near the small shrine they had set up to continue their worship of the elements.  That alone would be enough to get them in trouble, never mind the Elementalist.  He was laying awkwardly on the floor where Yong-Soo had seemingly unceremoniously dumped him in his haste.  “Shhh,” she urged unnecessarily as she moved closer to him and propped his head and shoulders up on her legs to give him a better resting position.  She didn’t want all her hard work to be undone by this disturbance...if they got out of it at all.

                “Is he going to be alright?” Siwon whispered, looking up at the worried herbalist in the dim lighting.  He was distracted enough that the array of strange sights and smells weren’t bothering him too much since he didn’t know what was going to happen just yet.  The shrine he would have liked to inspected more, but now was not the time…

                “I hope so,” she responded in a hushed tone, her eyes glued to the top of the stairs.  She jerked and clung tighter to Siwon as they both heard a loud bang upstairs as the door was kicked open forcefully.

                Yong-Soo’s surprised cry was real enough in that and they heard his raised voice, “What’s going on here?”

                Heavy booted feet crossed the floor.  There were at least three of them inside.  “Just sit down,” a deep voice commanded him, punctuated by a soft thud as Yong-Soo was forced back down on the chair he had been standing in front of.

                “Hey!” he cried, indignant.  Yong-Soo watched the three men as the one kept an eye on him and the other two searched in the cabin meticulously.  There were not many hiding places but they looked everywhere, just in case.  As he was watching them, he was distracted by the third man who leaned in close and grabbed his chin firmly.

                “You,” he started, glaring at the young man before him.  “You haven’t seen any strangers passing by have you?”

                Yong-Soo allowed his brow to furrow in confusion.  “Not of late, sir,” he shook his head as much as the grip would allow and dropped his eyes.  “This road has been very quiet lately.”  Which was true in and of itself.  When Enrhyll stopped sending out so many patrols, this road in particular saw a great deal less use.  People still went to and from Corley Port, but most of the travel was between there and Lornhaldt.

                “Are you getting smart with me?” the guard growled, a menacing performance considering he towered over the young man in the chair.

                “No, sir,” Yong-Soo stated quickly, keeping his eyes down.  The last thing he wanted to do was draw their ire.  “Hey!” he cried as one of the men behind him pushed over one of the tables carelessly, sending herbs and various mixing bowls clattering to the floor.

                He swiftly stood up in reaction and was surprised by the backhand that caught him across the cheek by a metal gauntlet.  His body fell against the cot heavily as his head reeled, caught completely off guard.

                Beneath, Eun Mi clapped a hand over to keep from making any sound when she heard her cousin get hit.  Siwon gripped her hand firmly as he clenched his jaw shut tight.  His natural inclination was to help but they were desperate to keep his presence hidden just now and he wasn’t sure how much help he would be.

                They watched the shadows of the soldiers move across the floorboards, the small slats flickering at their passing and she tensed visibly as they neared the fireplace.  “Smells good,” a new voice smirked as he hovered over the remnants of stew from this afternoon.

                “Idiot,” the first man stated, hitting the man in the head with a clang as his gauntlet connected with the other man’s helmet.  “We don’t have time for that now.  Come on,” he growled, frustration evident in his voice.

                It seemed to take an eternity before the heavy footsteps faded from above, leaving the cabin oddly quiet.  Yong-Soo waited for even longer before he made any attempt to move about.  His cheek still stung from the backhand and he knew there would be a bruise there.  Balefully, he glared at the door and looked out the window as he saw the group heading up the road.  Only when they were out of sight did he finally make any attempt to open the door for the two down below.

                Light speared the pair as they huddled at the back, Eun Mi clutching Siwon in nervous tension and he staring wide eyed and alert.  “Are you alright?” she asked softly, her voice trembling.

                “I’m fine,” Yong-Soo responded resignedly as he made his way down the stairs slowly.  He had gotten off light if the stories about how the Imperial Guard was had any truth to them.

                “Thank you,” Siwon stated simply as he accepted the other man’s aide in getting up.  They both understood it was for more than just the help in getting up the stairs.

                “We were able to help you, but your friends…  You said they were along the river, yes?” he asked quietly, already dreading the answer.

                “Yes.  It seems I was washed down the furthest,” Siwon replied, not understanding until a moment later.

                “The patrol is heading upstream,” Yong-Soo grimaced.

                There were no words that Siwon could use to explain how distressed that statement made him.  All of them, save Eunhyuk and Summer, were out in the open and easy targets.  Of course they were able to defend themselves, but Kharin and Leeteuk at least were fairly injured and Eleanara and Kyuhyun did not look well enough to put up a concentrated defense.  If the patrol he had seen near the others were following a similar pattern, then the other four would be caught in the middle.

                Yong-Soo assisted Siwon up the stairs with considerably more care than he had in taking him down and then gently replaced him back in the cot.  “Just rest now,” he encouraged the elementalist sadly as he rested a hand briefly on the tall man’s shoulder.

                Siwon frowned as he struggled with everything at that moment.  He didn’t want to rest just then.  He wanted to go out and help his friends…but his body betrayed him.  It refused to move like he needed it to.  In helpless frustration, his balled hand hit the frame of the cot and he grimaced, feeling the tightness in his throat grow worse.

                Unobtrusively, Eun Mi wrapped her hand around his and took a seat next to the cot on the stool.  She didn’t say anything; just sat there, looking out the window, a quiet yet grounding presence.  They heard Yong-Soo straightening the room as he righted the overturned table and then picked up the scattered items before he settled into one of the chairs and fell silent.

                As full dark finally settled, Siwon watched the last vestiges of natural light disappear with a sinking feeling.  He covered his face with his free hand and clenched his jaw, fighting tears at his own inability to do anything.  Eun Mi’s hand tightened over his own and he took a steadying breath.  Nothing could be solved tonight…but in the morning, maybe something would change.  Finally, he relaxed his hand and allowed his fingers to curl gently around hers before he let the one covering his eyes fall to his opposite side.

                “Just sleep,” she encouraged softly, her voice soothing in the dim light.  Surprisingly, he listened as she watched his eyes close, shuttering the clouded, worried emotions that lay within them.  She waited until his breathing evened out before she removed her hand and looked out the window again.  A look over her shoulder showed her Yong-Soo regarding her thoughtfully.  “We should get some sleep too,” she told him, for lack of anything else to say.

                Before he could get up, she walked over to him in the dim light, the fireplace providing the only illumination.  She leaned over to get a better look at his cheek and ran gentle fingers over the darkening bruise there.  “You can look at it in the morning,” he assured her quietly as he carefully pushed her hand away.  “It’ll be alright.”

                Eun Mi stood up and sighed as she brushed off the front of her shirt self-consciously.  “I hope you’re right,” she murmured before taking a step back.

                He nodded as he stood up and laid himself out along the floor, quite comfortable with sleeping on the ground as he usually did anyway.  Not quite so content to sleep on the bare floor, Eun Mi at least retrieved another blanket from under the bed quietly and then she crawled under one of her tables to be out from underfoot.  It had certainly been an unexpectedly eventful day…

(a/n:  I hope this helps to explain a bit more about how things stand.  And now that all the characters are at the same point in time, I can resume the normal flow with the rest of them!  ^_^  For those of you still following, I would like to hear your thoughts on Eun Mi and Yong-Soo.  Likeable, suspicious, funny, or whatever you might feel like saying.  Otherwise, no worries and thank you as always for continuing to follow me.  <3

As a side note and though I'm a bit late and it's only a small marker, I hit subscribers!  Excite!  XD  It's the little things that make me happy.  haha  Much love to my newest readers and to those who have continued to follow me!  Enjoy and have an awesome day!)