There lie lies within fearful eyes

Those walking on the thinnest ice

Across the blades of Hellfire’s flames

Hide they behind mortal names

Don’t cry sweetheart

Everything was silent, yet so loud. The stone floor on which Krystal laid her head on felt cold and hard. She kept her eyes shut tight, pulling herself into a storm of calmness, of control, of confrontation.

To confront my past.

She remembered it all, the running, the fire, the screams…

The snow.

It was where she was now, in the land of snow. Krystal kept her breaths steady before she opened her eyes and she slowly sat up. As always, she was alone in the indoor arena. It was one of the days where it was safe to be out alone at such a late hour. She knew he’d be looking for her soon, but until then she wanted to enjoy the space all to herself.

Krystal stood up, taking a moment to ensure her senses straight. She was alone, truly, at least within a radius of 100 feet. She exhaled, gripping onto her steel cane. It was at least the length of her arm and was heavier than any old cane. She heard a clicking sound from a distance, at one wall of the room where several machines were installed for practice purposes. Mount Rye was a secluded kingdom, and its ruler liked it very much that way, but nothing was spared for the sake of military development. It was the room with the best facilities within the town academy and students put it to good use. All to produce a variant army capable of protecting themselves and the kingdom.

Krystal and turned and kept in a ready position.

She squinted her eyes, and maintained her focus. The first arrow shot out, which she easily averted with a swift swing of her cane. Then the second. And third. The numbers began rising, and the speed increased. Krystal grew more and more nervous as she kept herself protected with rash movements of her hands. The veins in her hands were protruding against her skin and she twisted her cane in one direction to form a rotating shield while her other limbs tried to counter other arrows.

The arrows proved too fast when one caught her by her shoulder. She fell back, and before she could take anymore blow, she slid to her right, panting heavily. Her arms were beginning to tremble a little from the intensity. Although the tips of the arrows were stumped and lined with foam to avoid from physically harming whoever it may hit, Krystal felt a bruise appear just above her left clavicle. It may have been safe but it was still shot at high speed.

Krystal got a hold of herself and stood up, making sure the machine was switched off before she gathered all the arrows scattered all over the floor.

40, she counted the total, which meant she managed to counter 39 arrows in a row. The rest that were shot after she fell down hit straight at target boards on the other side of the room. Krystal scored the same record she had been scoring for the past few days. Putting the arrows back where they belonged, Krystal then stretched her limbs.

Her biceps have been sore for two days now, but like always, she took very light notice of it. After all, it was not the first time she felt physically sore and it was definitely not the worst she has experienced. She danced some more with her cane, pretending to be in the presence of enemies within the silent darkness. Though there was barely any light, Krystal’s eyes were as sharp as that of a cat. Darkness was her friend and she made good use of it.

Once she was satisfied with her practice, Krystal decided it was time for a night stroll. She needed to be outdoors to cool down. She exited the arena through the main entrance door, entering an outdoor hallway that bore a square canopied garden area in the centre. The Academy was a large area of combined buildings made of stone bricks standing by the foothill ascending towards the Palace. It had four wings in total and Krystal was casually walking inside the North wing.

She carried her cloak by her side, enjoying the chilling breeze on the skin of her bare arms. The kind of coldness that usually made people numb to their bones felt refreshing to Krystal, and it was something she couldn’t show to everyone else. Or else, she shuddered slightly form the thought of a possible consequence.

As her footsteps lightly echoed within the spaces, Krystal suddenly came to an abrupt stop just as was about to make a turn. She turned around, looking towards the other side of the corridor that led to an unlit side of the building. It was total blackness at the far end. Krystal thought she heard something. Something like…the crunching sound of footsteps in the snow.

There it was again.

It was coming from ahead where Krystal would pass on the way to the exit. She shrugged. It was probably someone who had guts to be out so late at night besides her. Or it could very well be him. A smirk crept up on Krystal’s face as she sped her footsteps, making sure they were silent and she walked in the shadows. She felt ready to surprise him, if she could.

She kept her head high, looking out for his presence. He would perhaps nag at her for staying out so late again but after years of such thing, Krystal was indifferent towards it. She crept up, keeping in mind that it might not be him at all and tried to keep as calm as she could. But as she reached the source of the sound, Krystal stopped again. ‘Oh my God,’ she pushes her back against an inward small section of a wall. She was looking out towards a small greenhouse, a small area for herb cultivation meant for Herbology classes of junior students. But behind the transparent glass and towering plants, Krystal caught sight of an animal; or rather, a creature who were not supposed to be in that area.

The animal was grey and had fur, and seemed to be moving at a calm pace through the aisles of plants. Krystal knew it wasn’t just an animal. Within a blink the fur is no longer there, but now the creature is tall, standing, a man.

‘Animorph,’ Krystal breathed under her icy breath. She kept close to the wall, looking left and right. She did not want to engage with an animorph, and most certainly not a wolf animorph.

Animorphs were genetically unique human beings who could transform into one animal, which were usually determined by genetics. Krystal had read somewhere that all sorts of animorphs exists but only know of very few, well-known species, particularly wolf animorphs who have formed their own strong lineage, much like an aristocracy. But she has never encountered one. In the ten years Krystal has spent in Mount Rye, she’s encountered very few animorphs, which was of course due to the banning of non-humans residing in the kingdom. Or as the Queen liked to call them, “Residents of the Dark Side”.

Animorphs weren’t the only thing banned in her territory; witches, wizards, vampires, exotic creatures of the animal kingdom, anyone from the undead, anyone who is not human were banned. Or perhaps the proper word for it would be wanted. The Queen had a dream of building an army to eradicate these “residents of the Dark Side”. She had a new law passed as soon as she and her husband came to the throne; any creature banned from the land who were found would be killed. Few of Krystal’s peers were trying to make an economic gain from bounty hunting but executions were rare after the Queen chased out most of them long ago.

Now, most of these creatures who stayed in Mount Rye are hiding too well.

Krystal kept a close watch. She was not particularly scared of them but animorphs know of Mount Rye’s reputation as a port for execution of their kind, and any human-looking person would pose as a threat to them. It was like being a deer walking into a territory of lions. But Krystal was no threat, and all she wanted to do was not get into any trouble, although she doubted she could get killed. She turned the other way, wanting to distance herself from the wolf animorph.

Once she felt she was out safe enough to leave normally, Krystal let out a sigh and jogged slowly while keeping her gaze behind her to ensure she was not caught by any chance. But her senses failed her.

She flinched back with a small shriek when she saw the wolf right in front of her. It was growling lowly and Krystal’s first instinct was to bare her cane ready. She took slow steps back, holding out her cane as a warning sign. The wolf was large and intimidating, its green eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

Krystal kept her gaze sharp. Her mind was only on running but a wolf was faster than a human and Krystal doubted she could outrun the creature, unless it has no intention of hurting her, but there was something about how it was approaching her that made her pessimistic. She had to somehow distract it, if she was to run.

‘Look,’ she spoke. ‘I’m not here for trouble. If you could please let me pass-‘

The wolf did not let her finish at all before it pounced. Krystal was almost caught off guard but she swung her arm back and managed to make a blow strong enough to throw the wolf down before it could land on her. It fell on its feet perfectly although Krystal was sure her attack had hurt its abdomen. The wolf began pacing slowly side to side, as if trying to confuse Krystal, and she turned anxious.

Knowing she had no chance if she kept herself engaged in this battle, she ran towards it, and swung her arm again, attempting to hit the wolf’s legs. It jumped, just as she expected, over her cane before it landed again and noticed Krystal running away. It morphed into a human, watching Krystal disappear into the corner. His fists were curled. He was not about to let her get away.

Krystal spared no energy and kept running and running as she looked for the nearest exit. The next thing she had to think of was find a safe place. But the problem was, it was late and nobody was out, except for husbands and bachelors who were wasting away their nights at the local pub. That still meant the streets would be empty. If she tried to hide the wolf could easily smell her out. She finally exited the North wing out into the open space of the outdoor foyer, a large space between the entrance and the building blocks of the Academy. Nearly there, Krystal told herself as she panted, feeling a surge of energy pass through her veins as she exposed herself under the winter moonlight.

But she was not safe as she thought she would be.

From thin air, a man took form right in front of her eyes, leaving her to run in other directions but the man kept appearing out of nowhere. Teleportation? She was overwhelmed. He’s a sorcerer-animorph? That triggered a thought inside her. No wonder something felt weird. If he’s a sorcerer then why is he attacking me? The third time around, Krystal was hit by a harsh blow to her face and she fell onto the snow. She could taste her blood on her tongue and spat out red liquid onto the thick white blanket before she hurriedly got up. It was night and the moon was out; this was her time. She was at an advantage.

She immediately leapt up and held her cane tight, flexing her muscles. The man towered over her and she could finally gaze properly into the man’s eyes. He was lean and tall, and he looked extra scary with his dark clothing. Surprisingly, he looked younger than Krystal thought. He smiled cynically, raising his hand. They were locked in constant attempts to attack but both were fast and swift. The man kept disappearing and appearing, but with Krystal’s concentration, she retained high sensors to make sure none of his hits passed.

Every attempt to flee were blocked off and Krystal were left with no chance but defend herself, and almost impossibly, perhaps, hurt him enough to give her time to run all the way home. But as she was not getting hurt, neither was he, and as minutes dragged, her arms were beginning to get sore. Should I use it? Krystal thought to herself. But it’s forbidden.

The man lands another hit in the stomach, which has Krystal collapsing on the floor. She tried to get up again, but he kicks her hard in the knees, which sends her screaming from pain as the bones in her legs takes a weird twist and send her into pain. The man blows into his dominant right fists and blows a hit to the side of her skull. Krystal hits the floor, her head disoriented from the blow and the man pulls her cane from her hand.

The weapon seemed interesting enough and it intrigued his thirst for blood. You’re not here to kill, Kai. He heard a voice whispering inside him but he could not care less. He had killed before and this girl at his feet struggling to get up would certainly not be the last.

Eradicating evidence would be nothing of a problem.

Krystal was still trying to blindly push the man away, her head still hurting, throbbing loudly when Kai held her by her neck, easily enough. He threw her cane to the side. In the end, his favourite killing tool would always be his bare hands. That way he could enjoy the killing better. Krystal felt her feet dangle from above the ground. He turned her around and pressed her back against his body, his arm binding her across her chest hard and tight.

He smelled sweet, surprisingly, of roses with a hint of smoke, but it made Krystal want to choke. He traced her neck; it was small and fragile. Snapping her neck would be too easy and unsatisfying to his needs. Perhaps he could transform into a wolf and rip her out to her bones with his claws, Kai thought. He dropped her to the ground and within a split second, changed into his wolf skin and spared no second to pounce on her.

Kai bared his claws, ready to dig them into her skin, when he gets thrown back by a massive force and falling on his back. Krystal looked towards his direction. The wolf began to squirm around as if it lost control, twisting strangely and howling in pain. He kept using his paws to rub his face again and again as if there was some invisible distraction. Was there sound distraction I can’t hear? But Krystal knew it was none of her concern. She took the chance, got up and picked up her cane, limping away and away until at last she was out of the wolf’s sight.

Krystal knew well what happened, but was too shocked to think about it. She had to kept shut. What was important now was that she get home and get treated. Her leg was bruising inside and out and her head was still hurting badly. She threw her cloak over her body. Luckily, for her there was no external bleeding so any rare person who was still out at this time would not suspect anything of her.

She passed the city square and walked a further four blocks more until she reached a familiar street, all were stores of numerous sorts; a bookstore, a fruit lot, a tailoring shop and at the very end, Krystal finally exhaled easily, she spotted a bakery sign. There was a very faint smell of bread lingering in the air. She sneaked into an alley to reach the back door of the bakery and stepped in.

The warm air of the kitchen welcomed her. It was a very modest lot but it was home. ‘You’re early,’ a man’s voice greeted her. Kris was sitting at a small wooden table with a lantern by his side and an open book. Krystal immediately locked the door and even slid the bolt. Kris watched curiously as she hung up her cloak and went to the front. Another man was out in the front, in the shop.

‘You’re back,’ Kyungsoo was sitting at another table, which were prepared for his customers right close to the window of the shop. He had papers on the table and ink and paint. He must be designing again. Krystal slide behind him and pulled the curtains completely, shutting out all outdoor light from coming into the shop. ‘I’m drawing,’ he told her, but she seemed to have not heard him at all.

‘Something happened,’ Krystal looked at him, and headed back to the kitchen. She gestured for him to follow her and he cluelessly abided. He noticed something right away.

‘Krystal why are you limping?’ he said. She did not answer. She only took a seat at the table near Kris. ‘Did you hurt yourself at the Academy?’ he assumed, but Krystal looked too afraid for it to have been an injury she caused herself.

She put her hands on the table and curled her fingers tight. Kris looked at her strangely. Her anxiousness and fear was channelling into his very own veins. It felt so great that he pressed a hand over his chest. Reflexively, he reached out for his sister’s hand and held it tight.

‘What’s going on?’ he looked at her.

‘I ran into a wolf,’ she said.

‘A wolf?’ Kyungsoo looked at her.

‘An animorph. A wizard-animorph,’ she stuttered. She was breathing heavily and she kept clasping onto her head. ‘My head hurts,’ she complained. Both the men waited for her to continue but she shut her eyes and seemed to be in too much pain.

‘We need to get her upstairs,’ Kyungsoo said. Kris nodded. He helped her up from her chair.

‘H-He-‘ Krystal could not get the images out of her head. ‘He tried to kill me,’ she managed to mutter before she fell unconscious in Kris’ arms.