The Knight

Asunder
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V

 

Sunmi guided Chungha through the marshes, no one uttering a word. The only sound was that of their steps and the occasional noises made by critters. Passing a pond, Chungha eyed one of the trees flanking the waterbody, branches on the right side swaying lightly. A flock of black herons landed nearby, using their wings to form a canopy and catch their prey.

 

Chungha knew those birds from her hometown, where she had grown until the Elder noticed her affiliation to magic. Every child, regardless of status, once discovered by a member of the First or Second Pillar were brought at the Higher Circle to help them harness their spirit.

 

She could vividly remember that day. The way the sun shone, golden kisses on her skin, and the scent of the freshly baked bread her mother pulled out of the stone ovens. The Elder had chosen her out of all the other children waiting in line, eager to find out whether they were meant for more than the village’s mundane life.

 

He put his utmost faith in her, gave her private lessons, nurtured her curiosity and passion for the four elements.

 

But the woman in front of her, strutting as she owned the lands, bore no markings of any of the Pillars. Undoubtedly, she must have had some sort of training. Someone must have taught her how to maneuver the flow under their skin - like blood, like air; the magic that was to them indispensable as food for mere humans.

 

Yet, as the nagging thought grew and grew in her head, Chungha did not want to believe Sunmi was evil. Sure, the circumstances upon which they met hadn’t been the best, but Sunmi could have easily killed her.

 

And whatever that creature was, the one that so easily defeated her in combat, Chungha acknowledged that Sunmi had more experience dealing with them and would be more than helpful if they were to meet another of its kind.

 

Hellion, Sunmi called them. Chungha would have to remember that word for later.

 

“Here we are,” she announced as they halted at the edge of the forest. Smoke wafted from afar. Chungha could see the village outlined and some armored men moving, digging ditches and building a rudimentary wall around the buildings.

 

“Thank you,” Chungha stared at Sunmi, expecting a goodbye of some sort. Instead, Sunmi immediately turned and left.

 

Chungha watched her disappear into the thin fog. She sighed and went on her way too.

 

*

 

As Chungha approached the village, she noticed the armored men were a few Knights and the majority were men of the Queen’s army. She already knew the Knights would be there, waiting for her, but she did not expect to see any of the soldiers bearing the rose emblem on their chest. A few rushed past her, carrying buckets of water and wood and hammers, all going to a portion of the wall that was dangerously close to crushing some poor unsuspecting villager that could have passed by there, drunk or not.

 

Among the crowd and the dust and the ruckus, one Knight stood and barked orders. Chungha got closer to the Knight, her hand rummaging through her clothes until she pulled the scroll out.

 

She stopped before the Knight.

 

“Knight, I salute you,” Chungha bowed her head quickly and the Knight returned the gesture, taking in Chungha’s outfit.

 

“What do you wish, stranger?”

 

Chungha handed the Knight her scroll, the Elder’s black seal intact - thankfully, magic had other purposes, too, including enhancing what should not be opened until it landed in the rightful hands. And it seemed Chungha had guessed right, for when the Knight took the scroll, the seal easily broke as it unrolled. The Knight read the scroll and rolled it back, returning it to Chungha.

 

“We have been expecting you, Mage. I am Seulgi, the Overseer of the Knights in this camp. Come this way.”

 

Chungha followed Seulgi to the largest tent of the bunch littered along the skeleton of the wall. Seulgi invited her inside, where an elderly man with a white beard stood at a table, examining maps along two other individuals, all three wearing the Queen’s rose.

 

“Commander,” Seulgi addressed the bearded man, “help from the Higher Circle has arrived.”

 

The man mumbled something and waved his hand, dismissing them. Seulgi narrowed her eyes, but only nodded and led Chungha out as quickly as she had led her inside.

 

“I do not understand,” Chungha dared speak once they were heading away from the main tent, “what is going on here?”

 

“Things have gotten complicated. We’re making sure it does not spread further to any of the other villagers or the city.”

 

“Is it the Wildling Witch you wrote about?”

 

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Comments

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CliveBenevolent #1
Chapter 9: I really hope you continue the story, it's SO GOOD!!!!
kpopruinedmelife #2
Chapter 9: has this series been abandoned?
lucienthegiants11
#3
Chapter 9: It's getting intense owo
Seadrik #4
Chapter 8: Welcome back! I really like the way you write and I also love seulgi and sunmi in this story. I sometimes find the way people write generally detached characters annoying but I feel like a really understand sunmi. Chungha has basically been unconscious for most of the story XD but I really like her character too.
mxrtxmj #5
Chapter 8: Welcome back! I'm enjoying the story so far, I love fantasy concepts and much more If it's about Sunmi and Chungha ;;
lucienthegiants11
#6
Chapter 8: MAAAAA MAA WHATTTT
MAAA
WELCOME BACK
First of all I'm whipped for fantasy concept so you got me there UwU
From how you bring Chungha and the backstory between Seulgi and Sunmi :3
But I prefer sunmi x chungha xD
Vitium
#7
Chapter 5: Ooh, I hope she doesn't lose, good luck Chungha, haha. I'm honestly torn bc I want to trust Seulgi and I want her and Chungha to become like friends or sth but Chungha said she didn't rlly trust knights,,,
and the part abt the wilding witch(?) was confusing, tho it might be bc I'm tired, but I rlly hope it's not Sunmi. And I wanna know Sunmi's backstory and the history between her ans Seulgi - if there ever was one. at least I hope ill get to see them interact
Seadrik #8
Chapter 7: Oof, I wanna know what happens next... and what happened in the past. I basically just want to know everything.
lucienthegiants11
#9
Chapter 7: Woah woah....
This part is intense!
lucienthegiants11
#10
Chapter 6: Bruh... This is gold!!!
Can't wait for the next update
I'm glad I have a fellow SunmixChungha lover :')