Hello! Sorry for the long silence, it was finals for me and it kind of snuck up on me. Having to make like five videos in a two weeks on top of other assignments is not fun, I spent a collective of nine hours on a video that was only a minute and a half long. But as of this morning I handed in my final assignment, which means I am offically done college! It is kind of sad I won't get a graduation... anyways, I am back... mostly, I am sure I'll be late for updates as per usual, but for now enjoy. 

It was a night of no sleep for any of them. Byul left the house before the sun and decided it was a good time to take Arcadia for a walk. The village was silent but she figured as much, most of the people in this village had very little to worry about, unless they were one of the unlucky families who had a child stolen from them, Byul doubted they were sleeping.

It was different for her, she wasn’t going on this journey to get something back, in fact on this journey she was probably the one who was going to lose something. Her heart hurt for the home she was possibly going to lose, her identity as Byul, and more importantly, there was a very good chance she was going to lose YongSun when they got there. It all depended on how fast they could get the information, if Henry would call for the wedding immediately, or maybe they would be found out sooner than they wanted. 

All of this smashed around in her head, it was overpowering. She leaned against a fence, watching Arcadia sniff around the ground, she could feel tears threatening in her eyes. She had just found the one place where she could be herself, she could be Byul, she got Arcadia, she got closer to YongSun and her relationship with TaeOh had somehow gotten stronger, and here she was, about to give it all up. 

“You’re out early.” Byul almost cursed out loud, SoMin was walking up to her. “I thought you’d be getting all the rest you could.” She leaned against the fence with Byul.

Byul tried for a smile, but somehow the soft look on SoMin’s face made her want to actually cry. “I don’t think it will be possible for many of us to sleep.” 

“I guess you are right.” She paused. “Do you want to talk about what is bothering you?” 

Byul felt wobble. “It is just a lot going on at the moment.” She wiped a stray tear. “I feel like I finally found a place I belong, after all this time, and now I am about to give it all up.” 

“It is a really brave thing you guys are doing, these are not your people but you are all giving up a lot to bring them home to us.” 

Byul gave a half shrug. “If we have the power to do something, we have the right to do it.”

SoMin’s eyes snapped to Byul, a shocked face fading into another smile. “That is something your mother used to say.” That made Byul’s heart jump in her chest. “I see a lot of her in you.”

Byul’s hand touched her necklace, she felt like she had her with her a lot more since coming here, and since recovering her necklace. “I miss her a lot, I often wonder if she would be proud of who I am.” 

A sad smile played on SoMin’s lips. “I think she would be, she was also someone who used to go out of her way to do what was right, no matter what.” SoMin’s eyes followed Byul’s hand. “Is that her necklace?” She asked leaning in closer, an odd look about her face. “I haven’t seen you with it before, I thought she…”

“Died with it.” Byul finished for her. “In a way it did. She gave it to me moments before she died.” She looked down at it. “I hid it in the forest around our old village, I recovered it when we went back.” 

SoMin reached her hand slightly but stopped herself, she still had an odd look on her face. “I never thought I’d see it again.” She pulled her hand back, as if it would hurt her to touch it. “It is a moonstone.” She said in a bit of a whisper. “I was the one who got it for her, there was not a day that she didn’t wear it.” 

It was odd hearing someone talk so fondly about her mother, Byul almost forgot that other people had known her, that SoMin and her mother were best friends, that is why she and TaeOh were so close. Byul reached back and undid the necklace, she held it in her palm like it was the most precious thing in the world. “Would you take care of it for me?” SoMin looked so shocked, her eyes were lined with tears. “I don’t feel comfortable taking it with me, I think it will be safer in your hands, I wouldn’t want to lose it.” She slid it into SoMin’s hand.

SoMin cupped it in her palm, a finger slid down it, as if she was feeling the memories in it. “I will make sure that I keep it safe.” Byul watched her slip it over her head, it rested on the base of her neck like it belonged there. “I wait for the day that I can return it to you.” 

Byul leaned in and gave her a long hug. “I appreciate everything you have done for me and my family, all of the families that came from and died in the village. I hope TaeOh comes around, he is stubborn, but I am sure he will see how much you care.”

SoMin pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you Byul-Ah.” She leaned into her ear. “I wish you the best of luck on your journey, and with YongSun.” Byul felt heat rise in her cheeks, did everyone know about her feelings for YongSun? 

Byul looked SoMin in her eyes. “Thank you SoMin, I hope we can meet again.”

SoMin grabbed her hands tightly. “I am sure we will.” 

Byul called Arcadia, she had gone a few feet away, the wolf bounded over to her happily. She said her final goodbye to SoMin and walked back to the house. She felt a little bit better knowing her mother’s necklace was safe. She still was not sure about what was to come, but as long as she was with TaeOh and YongSun, she would go anywhere. 

They decided not to take any horses. It had been a long debate, Luna thought it would be faster, but the remaining members agreed that this needed to be done more discreetly, even if it added time to the journey, they needed that time to prepare a story for YongSun and time for her to practice her powers. There was quite the crowd around them as they prepared to leave, most of them were the families of the missing kids, giving them some prepared food and goods for the trip, the others were just curious people. EunSook had come to say goodbye to Arcadia and Byul, giving Byul some dried meat and fresh meat that she infused with nurtiance, and she told her it was good for a growing pup. “I have a friend in Kedoeron, this is where she stays, it is quite close to the place.” She pressed a folded piece of paper into Byul’s palm. “I don’t know what you are going to face when you get there, but if you need a safe place for Arcadia, my friend will take care of her for you.” 

Byul pocketed the address. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” Honestly, she was scared about bringing Arcadia along, she knew at some point she would have to leave her behind, but she wasn’t sure what the plan was, so having a safe place for her to stay, should something happen, she was glad. EunSook gave her regards before heading back to the animal house. 

WheeIn and HyeJin finished saying goodbye to Joon and SoMin, TaeOh even gave SoMin a small hug, she looked like she was going to cry. Luna said bye to her parents, and the other members of WheeIn’s gang bit them all farwell. As they walked out of the village, everyone was waving to them, as soon as their feet hit the other side, silence settled around them. “Well, let’s get this show on the road.” WheeIn said as she shouldered her bag, leading them down the road. 

The first day’s walk was boring. No one really talked to one another, they had the occasional short conversation but besides that, they were silent. WheeIn said it would be best if they distanced themselves as far from the Knight as possible, and as far away from any town before starting YongSun’s training. TaeOh also said it was best if they made as much ground as they could in the first day, since they would be slowing down. It was a long ten hours of walking before they made camp for the night. YongSun looked like she was the only one among them who was exhausted. When WheeIn finally called for them to stop for the night, she almost fell to the ground in happiness. She could already feel an ache in her legs that was going to be worse in the morning. 

Luna and TaeOh were tasked with finding firewood. WheeIn and HyeJin went to see if they could find something for dinner, the amount of food they had brought with them would not last the entire trip, so they would hunt every night to get food if they could, the dried foods were for the nights when they could find none. That left YongSun and Byul to set up camp. YongSun wondered if they were going to be coupled off like this the entire trip. Not that she didn’t mind being partnered with Byul, but ever since the six of them grouped together in the Knight, it seemed as if these were the standing partners. YongSun was sure that HyeJin and WheeIn would always be a pair, but Byul was used to being paired with TaeOh, but it seemed like he was staying close to Luna… something just felt off to YongSun about it, like she was intruding on TaeOh and Byul’s already existing dynamic. 

YongSun watched as Byul made a ring with her feet, marking the area where the fire would go. She then placed one foot in front of the other, measuring a good distance from it before dropping the first bed mat on the ground. “Can you clean the stick and rocks from this general ring?” YongSun nodded, this was something she was familiar with, on their way to Velcorn they did this almost every night. The distance she had measured was far enough from the fire that if anything happened, no one would get hurt, but close enough that they could feel the warmth of the flames. YongSun was usually always tasked with cleaning the sleeping area, Byul would find a good place for the person keeping watch, it was a very measured position where you were close enough to see the sleeping group, but far enough away to hear the sounds of the surrounding forest. YongSun was not sure why but the familiar task of cleaning up the rocks and sticks brought her comfort, it reminded her of her first journey from her home.

Her home seemed so far from her now. She had grown up a princess who had everything done for her. She was dressed and bathed and had her hair done by servants. She had all her meals prepared and cooked for her, and everything cleaned away at the snap of a finger. It was something she never really thought twice about, that was just her life, the one she had since the day she was born. She attended etiquette classes, political classes, dancing, language and history classes, everything one needed to run a kingdom. However, doing little things like this is what made her feel more accomplished. She knew so much more about medicines now, how to heal people. She knew the basics of hunting, though not very good at it, she knew how to start a fire and live off the land. Everything involved in that seemed so much more rewarding than her princess tasks. 

YongSun threw a few more sticks out of the sleeping area, Byul was coming back into the area, she had found a look out spot. She watched Byul for a minute, though the journey ahead was unknown and most likely life changing, she looked happier. Byul always seemed to look more alive when they were in the woods. It had YongSun remembering the good times they had on their previous journey. “Perhaps we should continue my fight training