Chapter 13

out from Kingston

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows above us, blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the sky.

The wind turned into a gale, rain fell in buckets from the sky, the temperature had dropped drastically, and Angel Yongsun struggled against the harsh weather that whipped and tore at her face and clothes. Yongsun thought it was most peculiar that she could not for the life of her keep warm, even though she possessed the magic to start great fires.

Yongsun clenched her teeth and fought against the onslaught of wind and rain as she tried to keep up with the witch and the magician who were several steps in front of her, seemingly unfazed by the harsh force of the elements. They must have cast a spell that warded off the bitter cold.

The witch turned to the magician, placing a hand on the magician’s shoulder.

«This isn’t your doing, is it?» Heeyeon asked with the thought that Moonbyul’s mood might have affected the sudden change in the weather.

Moonbyul stiffened and frowned, face full of contempt, then she gently pried Heeyeon’s hand from her shoulder.

«I’m not scared, if that’s what you mean.» She said, quite offended.

The magician shook her head, then turned to the Angel, only to see that the Angel was drenched from head to toe. Yongsun’s hair clung to her face, her skin was sickeningly pale, and her hands were shaking from the cold. Her knees quivered and Yongsun wrapped her arms around her chest.

Moonbyul found herself at a loss for words and could only stare helplessly at the miserable state that Yongsun was in.

«Peculiar weather.» Heeyeon commented from beside the magician, then she turned to Angel Yongsun and, without a second thought, removed her overcoat and draped it over the Angel’s shoulders.

«Hopefully this will help ward off the wind and rain.» Said the witch.

Yongsun did not protest, gratefully accepting the coat, and wrapped it tightly around her shivering body.

The Angel, witch and magician rushed through the streets of Kingston, passing through each Sector trying to outrun the Jaegers hunting them. Yongsun had little idea of who or what Jaegers were, but from the way Heeyeon and Moonbyul described them, and from seeing the fear in their eyes as they spoke, Yongsun understood that they were all in terrible danger.

She wondered if Jaegers were witches, or if they were beings without magic. She wondered if they were human, or horrible beasts that roamed the earth. Perhaps Jaegers had fangs instead of teeth, claws instead of hands, wings on their backs, even.

Could Jaegers fly?

The streets were dangerously slippery, and Heeyeon, who was leading them, had stumbled more than once. The lamplights were dimly lit and barely shone through the thick curtain of rain. Great puddles had formed in the cracks and uneven surfaces of the pavement. Water ran through the gutter like a tumbling waterfall.

«Where are we going?» Yongsun asked when they came to a sudden halt at an empty crosswalk.

The witch and the magician looked at each other as if the other had an answer. Heeyeon shook her head. Moonbyul looked down, deep in thought.

At last, Moonbyul spoke: «I’m not sure.» She said honestly.

Yongsun was surprised by Moonbyul’s answer, she bit her bottom lip, worryingly, but said nothing, then her gaze turned to Heeyeon, who chose not to say anything as well.

A strong wind, which brought more rain and cold, blew past them, and Yongsun clenched her eyes shut. When she opened them, she looked down at her pale, shivering hands. She clasped them together and attempted to warm herself by breathing into her freezing hands. It did not do much, but she thought it better to try than have her hands freeze off.

Suddenly, the magician appeared in front of Yongsun, and she gently took Yongsun’s hands in her own, rubbing them. Moonbyul towered over Yongsun, and upon such sudden closeness and intimacy, Yongsun was reminded of how Moonbyul’s lips had felt against hers.

Yongsun’s cheeks burned red, and she realised she had no-one else to blame but herself for her childish reaction. She was the one who had dared the magician to kiss her, such a gutsy and cocky thing to do! And it was only to prove that Moonbyul’s feelings were not real — they could not be!

Yongsun could not look at Moonbyul any more and turned her gaze to Heeyeon, who was pacing back and forth in the middle of the street. After a while, Heeyeon approached them and, taking in the Angel and the magician’s closeness, crossed her hands over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

Moonbyul did not let go of Yongsun’s hands. Instead, she met Heeyeon’s sly expression with a level stare and confidently suggested that they head to Avion.

«What do you mean to Avion ?»

«Your family— »

«No, I’m not involving my family in this.» Heeyeon said, firmly.

Moonbyul stayed silent, but the intenseness of her stare did not lessen. Yongsun could tell that Moonbyul was thinking, and from the look of it, Moonbyul was struggling to come up with something to say. It was an unusual sight to see the magician so put off and out of her element.

It was also particularly unusual for Yongsun to witness this tension between the magician and the witch. Of course, she had seen them argue before, but often times that was just playful banter. This came across as much more serious, and Heeyeon, it seemed, had taken great offence to Moonbyul’s suggestion of going to Avion.

«Then we go to Port City.» Moonbyul said, finally. «And from Port City we’ll set sail across the Weeping Sea and dock at Port Calais.»

«What makes you think that the people of Port Calais will willingly take in an Angel, a witch and a magician?»

Moonbyul was unnerved by Heeyeon’s sudden change of attitude and her biting remark, at least, she did not let it show.

«Either way, we go to Port City. And from there we’ll figure the rest out.»

Fate, if it exists at all, thought Yongsun as she followed the witch and the magician through the streets, has a way of teasing and leading us on in life, and I suppose that I am inclined to believe that there is something else out there for me. At least, I like to hope there is. Perhaps that is what fate is? Hope?

Yongsun stared at Moonbyul’s broad back as they neared the outskirts of Kingston. She was unsure which Sector they were in right now, but did that even matter at this point?

Her clothes clung uncomfortably to her body, she was cold and wet, and she imagined she must look a horrible mess. She wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a hearty meal. She wanted to lie down on a soft mattress, curl up in a warm blanket and bury her face in a pile of pillows.

Yongsun’s mind brought her back to Heaven and to how her life had been before she entered a Witch’s Bargain with Heeyeon. All of Yongsun’s memories were fractured and broken. She realised she was in pieces and that it had been a long time since she had been whole.

It was as if a knife had been plunged into Yongsun, twisting and turning, and she was the one holding the hilt. The thought of her life, which seemed to not be hers at all, made Yongsun want to scream out into the rain. But she did not, could not, for Yongsun reckoned this mess was her own fault. She was the one who had decided to leave behind her life at Sunfield Hall and Heaven in order to chase her own heart’s desires.

Yongsun’s mind raced back and forth between the past and the present, and she thought about Head Angel Solji, about Angel Wheein, about her family that she had abandoned all those years ago. All those memories, all those people she had left behind, caused her heart to race, her chest to clench.

She sought out her red pendant in her pocket, or perhaps she should refer to it as a magician’s stone (seeing as that was what it truly was), and out of nervous habit she began to rub circles on it.

The stone began to glow, and Moonbyul turned around, noticing the vermillion red colour shining through Yongsun’s pocket. Their eyes locked for a moment. Yongsun remembered Moonbyul telling her that she could hear the stone crying, which was a very peculiar thing indeed, but Yongsun was not one to question the powerful art which was magic.

Moonbyul stopped and let Yongsun catch up to her, then they continued walking together side by side.

«Are you all right?» Moonbyul asked rather hesitantly.

A lump had formed in Yongsun’s throat, and Yongsun found it difficult to answer truthfully. She looked up at Moonbyul and, through the rain, Yongsun could see Moonbyul’s wonderful eyes that glistened and shone.

Yongsun shook her head.

Moonbyul stopped walking and carefully wrapped her hand around Yongsun’s wrist.

«It’s a lot to take in right now, I know.» Moonbyul spoke softly, keeping her eyes on Yongsun.

«I should go back.» Yongsun said quietly.

The weight of her words came crashing down on her, and had it not been for the heavy rain tumbling down on them, Moonbyul would have seen the tears rolling down Yongsun’s face. Yongsun found Moonbyul’s cold hand through the rain and gripped it tightly, out of need, out of comfort.

«I need to go back to Heaven.» Yongsun said, trying to convince herself that she could not continue onwards, but she could not fool Moonbyul.

The magician, who had lived a drastically different life from Yongsun and was therefore drastically different from her, frowned and tilted her head. Yongsun’s words had shaken her, the fear and dread that was clearly in Yongsun’s voice had rattled her, but Moonbyul could not find it in her to be mad or angry.

«You’re safe when you’re in Heaven, but you’re not living.» Moonbyul said, looking deeply into Yongsun’s eyes. «You’re a bird, Angel Yongsun, you’re the Vermillion Bird, you have beautiful wings desperate to stretch out and catch the wind. You’re meant to fly, not meant for Heaven, not meant to be trapped in a cage.» Moonbyul said with determination. «Don’t let fear stop you.»

«So what if I can fly? What happens when I fall?» Yongsun’s voice was careful and full of fear.

«Then you have someone waiting to catch you.»

It was then that Yongsun realised how serious Moonbyul was. The magician’s voice did not waver or falter, an