of blood and faith

of ink and heresy

an untold race

between friends and enemy

Kai’s party had hid two horses and tied them to a tree, a distance away from Mount Rye’s main entrance. One was black in colour and the other was brown.  They were handsome creatures, and as Krystal watched Baekhyun petting the two, she discovered that the black one was named Yui and the brown one Skye.

‘We’re one horse short,’ Zhitao whispered to Baekhyun.

‘I can teleport,’ Kai offered.

‘You’re still healing,’ Yixing whispered.

‘I can ride with my brother,’ Krystal said, slowly rubbing Yui’s side. A tingle of excitement had overcome her; she has not ridden a horse in ages. Besides, she liked animals, so long they do not try to kill her.

‘Done,’ Baekhyun shot Kai a grin. ‘Shall we?’ he clapped his hands once. Kai looked around.

‘It’s clear,’ he nodded. His three cousins changed into their other skins, and Kai hoisted himself up Yui, while Kris and Krystal took Skye. One of the wolves, Krystal could not exactly recognize made a low growl and took the lead spot of the party. ‘Can you manage?’ Kai asked Kris, who sat in front of his sister. Kris nodded. They made a move down south of the mountains. The horses swiftly galloped through the terrain, avoiding rocks without the slightest hesitance and in such a fast speed that it was Kris and Krystal who felt as if they would trip and fall.

 The further they went, the warmer it got. Krystal could feel the humid air turn hot on the skin of her bare arm. She is not used to it, not after living ten years on a mountain where it is cold pretty much all the time. She presses her body against Kris’ back, afraid to look forward with the horse’s speed, but she calms down when she sees that their landscape gradually becomes less steep.  

The horses slowed down, galloping at a moderate pace. ‘Do you think people will notice we’ve gone missing?’ Krystal asked.

‘Of course, but it won’t be a big deal. People leave and come back all the time.’ Kris answered.

‘Do you want to go back?’ her question left them both in silence.

‘It already feels like home,’ he said blankly. ‘I can’t really see how our life will be if not back there. But I’ve never been the one who dreamed much,’

He was right. When their lives turned upside down, the only thing on their minds as mere children was to be somewhere safe, with someone who could protect them. Memories were pushed back and rarely brought up. It never seemed like an ideal thing to do to go back to someplace they both remembered as dangerous. They got to used to living in Mount Rye, but Kyungsoo sometimes reminded them that if they wanted to go out, then they could.

None of them just expected that time to come so suddenly.

After several hours, Kai signalled at Kris to halt the horse, and the other three change back into their human forms. Zhitao took a look around and then nods at Baekhyun. ‘It’s gonna get dark soon. Let’s set up camp,’ he decided. Krystal looks up to the sky; it was late in the evening and anytime soon the sun would set. They walked a little further in search of a water source, and thanks to Baekhyun’s sharpened senses, they find a grassy river bank with enough space for all of them to gather and rest. Initiatively, Kris set up a small fire. Thanks to his Sun emblem, it allowed him the ability to create heat, more than enough to ignite a pile of dry branches and leaves.  

‘I’m going to go look for game,’ Kai offered before he and Yixing leave the rest at their modest camping site. Krystal ventured out in another direction; she had spotted some edible vegetation and berries along the way and wanted to gather them before it was too dark. She and Kris then set up several traps on their way back.

By the time they had returned to the camping site, the sky was fully orange. While Kris tended to the fire, Krystal stood and approached Baekhyun, who was holding onto Yui and Skye’s rein near the river, letting them drink off their thirst. He was lowered as well, washing down his hands and face.

‘Hey,’ he greeted her in a light mood. He certainly made her feel easier around him than Kai did. ‘You ever camp out like this?’

Krystal shook her head. ‘I go out but Kyungsoo never really lets me stay out.’ She replied.

‘Kai stays out a lot,’ Baekhyun began. ‘He’s the most…wolf-like among all of us. He gets moody if he stays inside too long,’

‘What is he like?’ Krystal was curious. She could not bring herself to trust him just yet, at least not without his seemingly more sane friends.

‘Loud, snappy.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Not the friendliest guy around, but he is…loyal.’ Baekhyun smiled.

‘Guess who got lucky,’ they both turned around to Zhitao’s voice. Kai held up two dead rabbits and had a smug grin across his face. He had a blood smudge on his jaw and Krystal could not help but shudder a little. They sat around the fire, and while Kai skilfully skinned the rabbits, Kris was sharpening some branches so that Krystal could set up something to hold up the meat while it cooked.

‘Why are you sitting far back?’ Yixing asked Krystal when he saw her sitting alone on a large tree root behind her brother. They sat in an incomplete circle, left in silence after eating.

‘She likes the cold,’ Kris said bluntly.

‘So,’ Baekhyun attempted to break the quietness. Besides the crackle of the fire and the slow sound of running water of the river, no one else said a word. ‘What are you two doing in Mount Rye? I mean, didn’t everyone leave a while back?’

‘Some of us stayed,’ Krystal nodded.

‘We didn’t know where to go,’ Kris added.

‘The man from back there, is he your-‘

‘We’re not related,’ she answered. ‘We didn’t come from Mount Rye. To be honest, we don’t know where we came from,’ she looked down. ‘But if you ask if we’re happy living there, you could say we are.’

‘We were going to leave sooner or later,’ Kris began. ‘I guess we stayed because we haven’t figured out where we wanted to go.’

‘What about you?’ Krystal asked. ‘What is it like where you guys live?’ a hint of pure curiosity lifted the mood of the atmosphere. Kai was not the least interested. After all, he found nothing exciting about Terra Nymphet.

‘Well it’s a place near the sea. Lots of rocks and if you walk far enough there’s a beach. We have a lot of ports and it’s always busy.’ Yixing replied.

‘And windy,’ Zhitao grinned. ‘And there’s one hill we hang out at and if you stand there at night you could see the whole town beneath you. It looks like scattered lights. Like stars, but orange.’ He gestured the stars with his hands, and the reflection of fire embers in his eyes glistened like an image of his story, and the twins thought to themselves hoe beautiful it must be to see it. ‘You should come one day,’

‘That would be nice,’ Krystal could not help but smile. They’re just like any normal kids, she thought. The innocence she saw in Zhitao’s eyes made her heart soften.

‘It’s getting late, you need to sleep.’ Baekhyun patted his back. Zhitao merely nodded.

‘I’ll keep watch first,’ Yixing offered. Baekhyun nodded, and the three of them transformed. Yixing stayed by the river bank while Baekhyun and Zhitao found themselves comfortable by Kai’s side. Kris put out the fire but stayed close to it, taking Krystal’s cloak to hold onto to keep himself from the cold.

‘I’ll stay up as well,’ Krystal merely said before she climbed up a tree, up to the highest branch until she was out of the shade. She inhaled deeply, looking up to the sky. The moon was out, and she could feel every inch of her skin rejuvenate, her exhaustion fading. She was protected tonight.

*

Victoria could not have been more glad to hear of Ailee’s arrival and had personally waited herself at courtyard of the castle to welcome her and her husband. Ailee had been blown away by how much the kingdom had changed. It used to be filled with run down houses, corpses from people who had died from the tragic famine and fields of dead vegetation with barely any hope for recovery. It was truly a dull and dead place.

But now, she saw bigger and taller houses, more flowers, horses and cattle being pulled about town. Children played with their dogs on the newly constructed streets. The people who saw Ailee’s carriage had stepped out of the house and cheered on her entrance. Victoria had made it known to them who had helped them through the dark years. Even the palace had gone through slight renovation.

She saw her friend standing by the grand stairs in nothing but a modest light green toga and very few accessories to match, yet she seemed so youthful and full of spirit, as if she had not been weighed down by all that happened, but rather reborn as another person. Very few could have guessed that she had born two children many years ago and was now a widow of 33. ‘Victoria,’ Ailee got off her horse on her own and embraced her old friend. ‘You look as stunning as ever,’

‘As do you,’ Victoria noted her unlikely attire of a simple gold trimmed white gown that swept the floor, in comparison to her usual fur-lined coat that she would don when Victoria visited her in Mount Rye. But the weather is much warmer down south in Hufeirat, warm all year which allowed vegetation and flora to bloom all over the land all year around. Like a fertile young , it seemed as if God had blessed the kingdom.

God, Ailee was sceptical. Yet, Victoria was her friend. She had invested money and energy onto this land. She would be most glad to know that the fruit that had come out from the labour had been God’s blessings, and nothing else. ‘Come, we have much to talk about.’ Victoria does not seem to suspect anything.

‘So much has changed,’ Ailee could not help but stare in awe at the new hall where all Victoria’s courtiers were hanging about, chattering in a light mood, some were sitting around tables playing cards, some others were flirting with each other across the large gallery. The wooden panel of the wall, which stretched several inches thick above the long windows, attaching it to the ceiling were carved with motifs that resembled flowers. Perhaps it was to symbolize Hufeirat as a blooming kingdom, emerging from ashes. The ceiling, which stretched like a sky, large and vast, was a canvas painted with light hues of gold and blue, as if to portray the day sky with its glorious sunlight beaming around the chandelier.

‘It’s like seeing a new kingdom,’ Ailee could not restrain her compliments. Victoria merely smiled humbly. ‘Like magic,’ she subtly added as she looked around. Amber, Victoria’s royal confidant was walking next to the queen when she heard this, but managed to keep a calm composure.

‘My people worked hard for this,’ Victoria replied. ‘I’m just glad they are able to see through the famine and recover from it all. They deserve it,’ she smiled warmly.

‘With a great queen,’

‘You flatter me too much. Should we go to my rooms? It’s rather loud here,’ Victoria referred to the music that was playing, the unrestrained laughs and talk. Ailee was surprised to see that Victoria’s private rooms were empty.

‘Where are your ladies in waiting?’

Victoria laughed slightly. ‘I have none,’ she answered. ‘Not anymore. I had them fill their time with studying. Rather than have them sing about and knit we prefer spending nights discussing about books,’ she explained.

It was indeed a new kingdom. Ailee felt as if she knew nothing about Victoria after all. Her room, like herself was simple, humble, and well lit from exterior light. It was small and had numerous bookcases on one side and a wall dedicated to numerous colourful paintings on the other. ‘Do you like collecting paintings?’

‘Ah,’ Victoria smiled. ‘I bought them for study purposes. Some of the people at court are trying to specialize in that field.’

‘You spend a lot on scholarly items,’ Ailee noted.

‘It’s our pride,’ she said before she gestured Ailee to take a seat. ‘So what brings you here?’ Victoria asked.

‘I thought I’d like to see how my friend is doing,’

‘Besides that,’ Victoria said as if she had already seen through Ailee. ‘You look a little troubled,’

‘I’ve had word,’ Ailee sighed. ‘Concerning the Temple’s bill,’

Victoria listened intently.

‘I’ve come to clear the rumours.’

‘About what?’

‘You are of the New Religion are you not?’

‘Perhaps,’ Victoria was unpredictable. Ailee could not tell if she was lying or not. ‘If you’re asking about my policy, then yes. I’m not obeying the Temple,’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t believe my people are subjected to what I believe,’ she merely answered. Ailee tried to hide her surprise. That was something she had not heard of before. The people had always been subjected to the beliefs of their ruler. Believe otherwise and they are charged for it. ‘I believe a mass voting is fair. The people know what they want. I am here to help them not dictate everything they do,’

‘The people do not know what is best for them,’ Ailee pressed her voice slightly. ‘The people before me once believed that magic would do them good and looked where it got them.’ She said. ‘They ended up with a damned queen,’

‘Well, I guess things are different here. After all, they used to have a king who ate the flesh of their own children.’ Victoria answered in a soft tone, although serious and slightly sarcastic. Ailee exhaled, leaning back in her chair.

‘So you let them stay?’

‘They find no harm in it. Besides, laws are still laws. They live as normal as everyone else and they don’t seek to hurt people.’

‘You think they don’t but they practice sin,’

‘Maybe,’ Victoria said calmly. ‘But this is their home. I’ve lost too many people to the famine, Ailee.’ There was a sudden tinge of sorrow in her eyes. ‘The thing they treasure now more than ever is unity. The spirit that we are all family, and we help each other through the dark times.’

Ailee still refused to agree with Victoria but she argued no more. The damned will always be the damned, no matter how normal Victoria believes they are. The damned was the reason she almost died, and the reason why she chased them out. Her people’s safety comes first. And if they could almost kill her, then they could kill her people, and Ailee was not about to give them the slightest chance to do that.

Fortunately for her, the highest religious autonomy had issued a similar belief and released an order that urged leaders from around the world to do as they bid to save them from harm. Should they obey then the Temple shall be glad to offer their protection, and every soul in the world knows how important protection from the Temple could be, what with their astonishing financial and political strength. Anyone would be a fool to overlook such an advantage.

‘I trust your instincts then,’ Ailee laid a hand over Victoria’s. ‘You have risen this kingdom up from the dark times of your husband’s reign. I cannot argue with you further,’ she was glad she felt sincere. ‘My prayers are with you,’

Then came a knock on the door. ‘Come in,’ Victoria murmured and Amber entered.

‘My lady, the court is ready for dinner. They’re waiting for your presence,’

‘Shall we?’ Victoria invited her guest.

The light-hearted atmosphere of the court continued even until night time. Eric genuinely enjoyed talking to Victoria’s highest council members. There was the usual music and laughing. Courtiers would share their stories from travelling far and abroad to other kingdoms, the dances they learned, the way other people dressed.

Then after dinner, Victoria went to the palace library with Ailee, and insist she join her scholarly circle. A group of girls, all dressed in modest cool dresses like Victoria sat at a large table scattered with books, quills, ink and paper. ‘It said in this book that in order to keep soil fertile, it would be best if you plant different vegetation, one after the other, so that the soil can compensate the nutrients it lost when tending to the previous vegetation.’ They listened to readings by girls who were as young as 12 and 13. Some Ailee disagreed with, but kept to herself, some intrigued her, but all in all it was a new culture for her, a pioneer of a military kingdom rather than a scholarly-based one. ‘Ma’am, are you practicing democracy?’ one girl, who seemed smaller than the rest spoke up.

Victoria turned to her, and she continued, ‘I found a book describing past ruling systems, and it said that democracy is a system where the state is governed by the people living in it, not by one person.’

‘You could say that,’ she gave it a thought.

‘Such young scholars in the making,’ Ailee praised. Victoria waited a while more, then excused herself and Ailee from the girls.

‘I want to show you something,’ the smile on her face was gone. ‘But in private,’ she said.

Ailee was clueless, but anxious. She cannot imagine what other surprises must she take before going back home.