A blurry haze of orange and yellow was all that remained of Jennie’s world. The explosion was too strong. They were too close. It was too dangerous. These were the last thoughts that flashed through her mind mere seconds before she and Taeyong had released their arrows.

Her head spun with images of Taeyong being flung back from the momentum of the fire. She tried to lift her gaze, but a numbness was beginning to spread all throughout her body. All around her, people ran about, appearing distraught and causing a commotion, but the only thing she could hear was the high-pitched ringing in her ears. The only thing she could see was fire.

“Jennie!”

Suddenly a voice captured her attention. Taeyong. She smiled, or at least tried to, as his face appeared in her line of vision. He looked terrified. Why? She did not have time to process these thoughts before she felt her body being hoisted up by his strong arms. Why were they running? She suddenly could not remember. He seemed to be in a rush, but why was everything moving in slow motion for her?

She gazed at the sight of her hand clutched in his in confusion while he snuck an anxious look behind him. It was not until the two of them were surrounded by officers that her disorientation began to fade. They had attacked Mingyu’s tents. Taeyong had staged a plan that would win the war. They were running for their lives.

And now, they had been caught. There was no way out.

Jennie shook her head, ridding it of every last drop of disorientation before fiercely facing the soldiers with Taeyong by her side. Together, they fought back-to-back, using all the weapons on their backs to pierce soldier after soldier. They had begun with a ruthless energy and passion that allowed them to defeat a small handful of Mingyu’s men.

But they kept coming. Like an endless see of ants pouncing on their prey. And Jennie was so tired. Her muscles could not handle any more exertion or injuries. One quick glance behind her told her that Taeyong felt the exact same way.

As another officer charged towards her with their sword held high in the air, Jennie braced herself for another attack. Her breaths were only coming out in short, rapid gasps, partly due to exhaustion and partly due to the ribs she had most likely broken during the explosion. Smoke inflated her lungs when she tried to take a deep breath, causing a fit of coughs to rack her exhausted body. Using the back of her sleeve to cover her cough, she was shocked to see the blood that stained her blue clothing.

With trembling hands, she struggled to raise her sword, her arms feeling much to heavy to move any longer. Her slow movements proved to be detrimental when the warrior managed to land a deep gash to her abdomen, just under her already bruised ribs.

Jennie gasped, clutching the wound with pale hands as blood gushed all around her. The world was beginning to slow down again, her vision blurry and the sound of her heart beating faintly echoing in her ears.

“No, Jennie,” Taeyong had turned around the instant he heard her shocked gasp, catching her as she crumbled towards the blood-smearing ground, “stay with me!”

“I—” her voice was only a hoarse whisper, “Taeyong… I … I’m … so—”

“Hot,” he finished her sentence jokingly, managing to pierce his sword through another officer that tried to attack her in the process, “I know.”

Jennie tried to laugh but had to stop immediately as searing pain jolted through the entire length of her body, “I was going to say… tired.”

He gazed at her for a long second and they were suddenly the only two people on the battleground. There was such a wide array of emotions in that one look. Desperation, pain, regret, understanding, and finally acceptance.

“Let’s sleep then,” he whispered. The sound of more soldiers rushing towards them was unmistakable, and yet he closed his eyes, remaining perfectly calm, “no more fighting. No more pain. If we cannot endure any more chaos, let us at least rest in peace.”

Jennie nodded slowly, spots of white light beginning to flood her vision as her eyelids fluttered closed.

“You are the only thing I have ever loved in this world,” he whispered just before an arrow pierced through his heart, splattering her clothing with fresh blood.

Her heart dropped as she used every last ounce of strength to lift her heavy lids. Tears flooded her eyes as she witnessed him fall to his knees beside her. She wanted to help. To catch him like he did for her. But she had lost all control over her limbs. She could barely think straight as more and more blood seeped out of her, causing her to fade in and out of consciousness.

More tears poured out of her as she realized she could not help him because she could not even help herself. Her fingers slowly inched towards his as they lay in a pool of their own blood, the life slowly draining out of them while love continued to prevail as strong as the autumn wind.

As they both accepted their fate, the only thing Jennie could manage was a weak whisper.

“Together we stand, and together we fall.”

~{❀}~

“I’m so sorry, Chaeyoung,” Lisa croaked through her dry, parched throat for the hundredth time that night.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Chaeyoung sighed as she helped Lisa down off her horse, being extra gentle to accommodate her injuries, “stop apologizing. It was not your fault.”

After Chaeyoung had made the decision to accept the Jung family’s offer, they had spent the entire day and night travelling back to the battleground with an army of warriors following closely behind. And Lisa, feeling guilty and responsible for the whole ordeal, had used every single opportunity she could to apologize. Hearing her waste every one of her painful breaths to relay her guilt only broke what little remained of Chaeyoung’s heart.

And now, as they re-entered the chaotic battleground, a part of her was beginning to regain hope that it would all be over soon. With the Jung family’s army and resources, they were now at an advantage. Suddenly, winning the war was not just an unattainable dream, it was going to become reality.

She should have been overjoyed. The exhaustion, all the