I am not late... you are! 

Sorry, it was another busy week but I hope you're not too mad :)

Memorial day had finally arrived. The village was buzzing with talks of the trip to come. TaeOh leaned against the outer wall of the mess hall, watching it all happen. He didn’t want to go back to his old village, he didn’t want to remember the last day he had been there. He had been trying to avoid his mother since the moment he found out that she was still alive. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a relationship with his mother, but the fact it had been so many years just made it awkward because he had no idea who she was anymore. The only thing he did know was that his mother helped raise WheeIn, he couldn’t help but be jealous that she got to have a second chance at being a mother. TaeOh shook his head, he was being stupid and her knew it, he agreed to go on this trip to his old village because he saw the look in Byul’s eyes, how much she wanted to go back. They had left together all those years ago, so they would return in the same way. 

A group full of children came running past him. They were all chatting and playing in an excited fashion. TaeOh assumed they were off to the school house, it was a building on the edge of town with small rooms for the kids of the village to study in. In the two weeks he had been in this village, he had memorised every building and structure in the village. One of the children tripped in front of him and went spralling to the ground. TaeOh immediately bent down to help her out. She had long orange hair, blue eyes slightly rimed with tears. “Are you okay?” He asked her as he helped her to her feet.

The girl swallowed hard, her tears vanishing as she did, they softened at him, she was looking at him as if he was a prince. “I am perfectly fine, thank you kindly for helping me.” Her cheeks were stained red.

TaeOh smiled at her. “Anytime.” When she didn’t leave he added. “What is your name?” 

Her blush deepened. “Mina.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

He held out a hand. “It is very nice to meet you Mina, I am TaeOh.” She shook his hand gently.

“What are you doing?” Luna’s voice snapped.

The girl jumped back, TaeOh rolled his eyes. “Do you have nothing better to do this early in the morning Luna then to harass me?” She walked up next to him, wearing her usual black uniform, snug to her form.

Her green eyes cut into his but she never intimidated him. “I was talking to her.” Her eyes cut to the young girl, she could be no older than ten years old, she cowered from the look. “Mina why are you not with your class? You are going to miss the trip.”

The girl took a moment to try and look more strong, TaeOh almost smiled at the attempt to not look as weak in front of Luna, he was surprised she could. “I was running and I tripped.” Her eyes flashed to TaeOh. “TaeOh was kind enough to help me up.”

Luna crossed her arms. “You needed a man to help you up Mina?” Her eyes cast away again. “If you want to look more strong to your classmates you need to be more in control, walk with purpose and determination. Calculated steps remember. How are they going to take you seriously if you are tripping all over the place?” At the girl’s shy gaze, Luna sighed. “Do you remember the moves I taught you?” She nodded her head eagerly. “Okay, think about each step you take, keep eye contact and remember who you are.” Another nod. “Go now or you will be left behind.” The girl smiled at them both, thanked TaeOh again and ran off to catch up with her classmates. Luna sighed as soon as Mina started running again. 

TaeOh looked at Luna, watching after the girl. “Your sister?”

Luna cut him a look. “Was it the hair colour?” It sounded sarcastic. 

He shook his head. “You sound just like I did when I was training Byul how to be a warrior, little sisters are difficult at times.” 

She looked at him for a moment, like she was wondering why he was being so nice to her. “I just don’t want people to walk all over her, she is too nice.” She said it defeatedly, as if it was something she was keeping inside for awhile. 

TaeOh nodded. “I understand, I was terrified for years I didn’t train Byul well enough and that she was going to be found out and killed.”

Another long pause from Luna. “You did a good job, I am not sure what I would do if Mina put herself in that sort of situation.” She looked away for a moment, as if she noticed how nice they were being to each other. “We better get moving or they will leave us behind.”

As they started walking, TaeOh continued the conversation. “So where is Mina’s class off to?”

Luna picked up the pace a bit, they were leaving very soon for the village. “Outside the village.”

TaeOh was shocked. “I didn’t think anyone but the warriors left the village.” And people like Ernesto, who had taken a few days to go back to his shop since YongSun got her powers returned, he was just going to check on things while she worked on controlling them. 

“They usually don’t.” She glanced at him from the side of her eye. “Every year the classes leave with a few warriors, the upper level ones, not us, and they go check out the resources nearby. Usually just the herbs and stuff from trees we cannot grow within our walls.” 

That was interesting. “And you are worried for her?”

She shrugged but TaeOh could tell she was. “It is a right of passage for every child in the village, once you become of age, you are allowed to leave if you wish, but until then no one leaves except for days like today.”

He kept nodding as she spoke. “Have you been to a memorial day before?” He was curious as to how it worked but he didn’t want to ask SoMin. 

They were coming up to the hoard of people gathering. “A few. They have been doing it since the arrival of the members to our village. I’ve only started attending the last few years as a warrior.” She gave him an odd look, like she was waiting for him to show some sort of emotion. 

TaeOh stopped walking as soon as they hit the crowd, wanting to stay at a distance. “What can I expect?” He imagined a lot of crying.

“It is something kind of beautiful.” There was a whimsical tone to her voice. “They built a wall for candles, it is longer than I wish it was. There are candle holders on the wall, one for every person who dies that day.” She glanced over again. “Well I guess they will use two less this year.” She looked back ahead. “Every person’s name is carved in the wall below their candle, they wait until nightfall to light them, calling out each name as they light it. But until nightfall everyone is welcome to leave gifts for the lost ones. It is usually the flower arrangements that SoMin makes, some make their own.” 

TaeOh couldn’t help but notice Byul and YongSun among the crowd. YongSun was standing slightly behind Byul but close enough their arms were touching. A pang of sadness hit his heart, he needed to leave them both alone, he knew they would be happy together once they both realized it, and Byul deserved someone like YongSun. Luna followed his gaze and shook her head. “Come on hot shot, let’s go pretend you’re not crying inside.” 

YongSun wasn’t sure how this was all going to go. There were about thirty people going to memorial day, eight of them were warriors, one was Jung, and then YongSun. There are a total of twenty survivors from the village including TaeOh and Byul. TaeOh arrived not long ago, alongside Luna who seemed to be permanently glued to his side, just as it seemed Krystal was to Byul the second she stepped away from her. 

Apparently it was a whole day’s walk to the old village, they would stop for and rest for a few hours along the way, meaning they would reach the village a few hours before nightfall, enough time to set up before the lighting ceremony. What unsettle YongSun a bit was that the village was on the edge of Kedoeron, the kingdom she was supposed to marry into, she didn’t like being so close to them, even if it was a weeks journey away. She still wasn’t sure what was to become of her future, if she would have to go back to her Kingdom, if she would have to marry Eric, if she could she would stay with Byul and TaeOh forever, but she wasn’t sure what path her new powers were going to take her on.

The crowd began to move out. The warriors allowed Byul and TaeOh their weapons for the day. They were expecting any trouble but it was just incase. WheeIn and HyeJin were coming, along with Luna and Krystal from WheeIn’s warriors. There were four other warriors coming, WheeIn said they were from the upper level for added protection. They almost had a baby wolf join them for the journey but Byul thought it best to leave Arcadia at the animal house to be looked after, though she looked a bit sad to leave her new companion behind. 

It was the first time YongSun had left the Knight since arriving two weeks ago. The timeline in her head told her it had been years since she left her kingdom but she knew it had been not even two months yet. She wasn’t even sure how that was possible, so much had happened so fast that it seemed like she passed through many lifetimes, she wondered how many more she would be going through. They passed through the barrier as easy as they originally came into it, YongSun even turned around to watch as more people seemed to just appear out of nowhere as they passed through it. Magic was still so new to her, even though she could now feel it coursing through her body. 

From where she was, lost in her mind, she notice