Stepping through the barrier silently, we went unnoticed by the guards who had their backs turned towards us-- too busy guarding the entrance of the tent with their heavy, silvered swords  to notice what was happening behind them. Yves brought a single finger up to her lips and motioned for us to stay quiet as we slipped out the back of the tent, just barely squeezing through a rip in the fabric. So much for being the most secure place in the training grounds.

It's then I realise I never knew what it felt like to be truly overwhelmed until now. My eyes blow wide as they dart in every direction, taking in what I could. It felt like so much was happening all at once, so chaotic I could barely wrap my head around it.

The moment I slip out after Jungeun is when reality cements itself in the forefront of my mind. The sound of shouting is all that could be heard. A cacophony of sound as soldiers marched by tents, hands stiff on the hilts of their swords. A few staggering guards held torches high in the air, complimenting the assortment of bonfires that lit the camp up in an earthly hue of orange. From just up ahead I noticed archers positioned at the edges of the training grounds, chatting away with each other or setting their sights on something unknown lurking in the bushes-- no in between. The air grew thick with a tension that had my heart dropping in my chest. I barely pick up mumbled pieces of conversation as Yves leads us away from the commotion. 

"... I almost can not believe it. Who do they think they are? Leaving us to to wait out here as some type of bait? They think they are one with the gods because of their golden spears..."

"... It feels like we are losing time too quickly. If only Commander Jungeun was still here. Maybe it would put our men at ease..."

"... The overseer will not be alone, we will make sure of it. The King would not be happy, but why should we care? We are nothing but pawns in his war..."

I felt sick. I thought the Kingdom was taking this war bad, but nothing could compare to this. Nothing could compare to the looks I saw on these men's faces; washed pale, nervous, eyes blown wide as if anticipating the worst at any given second. It reminded me of something I learnt in ninth grade psychology class. The curriculum was on soldiers at war and the manifestation of post traumatic stress disorder. Not that I could read any of the textbooks or anything, but the documentaries were enough for me. Witnessing the way those men tripped over their own feet, the way their brains malfunctioned out of fear and anxiety. 

Something about watching these guards right now... it felt too real. It felt like I was intruding, like I was seeing what's left of a man before his life changed forever. 

I wanted to vomit.

Watching a particular group of guards march, my eyes subconsciously settle on a much smaller frame lingering behind. He looked no older than me, maybe even younger. He followed along after the pack of much older men, crooked helmet and all, nothing but a look of pure terror etched across his face. He was just a boy. 

The feeling of a hand placing itself on my arm tugs me from my thoughts and back to reality. 

"Y/N." 

Yves whispers. Like her eyes in this moment, her voice had never sounded so small. As if she knew what was on my mind, as if she could tell what I was thinking just by looking at me. To be fair, I never was the best at guarding my own emotions. 

Several seconds pass as we just stare at each other. The hood of our cloaks covered our faces, but from just beneath the fabric I meet familiar chocolate browns. Her eyes searching mine, mine wide in utter shock. And then her lips tug into a small frown and I fight the urge of sparing a look down. I knew that if I looked I wouldn't be able to turn away. Wouldn't be able to stop staring at the shape of her upper lip, tempting. She stammers over her words before tugging me forward, practically pushing me in front of her so I couldn't look back at the men. Like she was trying to act as some kind of barrier, like she was protecting me from seeing something she didn't want me to see. It reminded me of when I saw the nurse in the infirmary. Her words fall from her lips with a sigh.

"Keep moving."

All I can do is nod, speechless. Even as we walk away from the training grounds, practically peeking behind corners to avoid being seen, I just couldn't shake the image of the boys face from my mind. 

But the image soon fades when a sudden warmth replaces the cold at my side.

 Yves not once lingers away from me. She looked like she wanted to say something. Like there were words on the tip of her tongue waiting to be said. But instead she zips her lips. She matches my quiet, but there was no ignoring the occasional glance she shot my way every few seconds. I didn't know how she did it. Even with no words passing between us, she still managed to find a way to know what was on my mind.

   It felt like seconds but I knew it had to have been longer. Sparing a glance behind us I noticed the training grounds was now further than I expected. All I could see left from the camp was the faint orange lights emitting from the bonfires, creating a distant glow barely visible to my eye. It was still daytime but the smoke fills the air as if it was evening. I could no longer hear the shouting of guards but instead the sound of our own footsteps as we walk down the familiar path, pebbles skittering away and twigs crunching. I couldn't believe I wasn't paying attention to just how much distance was created.

And then she breaks the silence.

"It is not always like this. My people are not usually so... scared." Yves' voice comes out hesitant as if testing the waters. I turn to face her and notice she was now walking in step with me. Olivia and Jungeun trailed ahead of us as they move with purpose, knowing the path off by heart. It was just me and her. She continues when she knows she has my attention, this time a little more confident.

"I am under the impression that the sights you have seen are damaging more than what you are showing. For that I am sorry."

Like so many times before, for a moment I stay quiet as I try deciphering what she was saying. I still wasn't use to the way she spoke-- so formal and elegant. My eyes subconsciously drift away and towards the trees around us, a sigh tearing from my lips as I shake my head.

"I guess it's just something I gotta' get use to."

She opens as if wanting to disagree, but instead she settles with her own sigh and a purse of her lips. "Perhaps."

I didn't know where to go from there, so I opt for quiet. My mind was already racing, darting back and forth between topics so fast I could barely get a grasp of myself. Another series of seconds passes as Jungeun and Hyejoo's distant voices fill the silence, an indecipherable conversation. And then Yves tries again, stammering for the slightest of seconds before dropping her voice to a whisper, loud enough for only me to hear.

"I am afraid."

Of all the things I expected her to say, that was the least of them. I turn back to her and motion for her to continue, my face surely washing over in confusion. She waits a beat, collects herself, and then elaborates. The sound of our footsteps fill the silence in between.

"Hyejoo... what she did..." She falters. She digs arounds for her words and swallows the lump that forms in seemingly out of nowhere. This had to be one of the few times I'd seen her so vulnerable. She gazes off into the distance before shaking her head and sighing. "I have never known her as one to manipulate minds. It is making me question just how innocent she may be."

I didn't need her to continue. I knew exactly what she meant. Suddenly the anxious feeling that anchored me down made sense. Our conversation with Chef Min-sik comes back to me immediately. The image of the man looking so tired in his bed, his swollen cheeks and purple bruises.

My mind has been emptied, my memory altered...

My breath knocks out of me as if I was winded. It was too convenient, like the stories were matching up. I mean we saw it with our own eyes!

 But then reality kicks in and my head shakes aggressively.

No... No, this was Olivia we were talking about. Olivia; the first friend I made. The girl who wasn't afraid of me, the girl who made me feel welcome against the judgmental eyes that tore me down since day one. It had to be a mistake. My words slip from my lips before I could stop them.

"Whatever you're trying to say..." I trail off and my head shakes a second time, just as aggressive. I didn't want to even think about it. "It can't be. Not her."

 I don't miss the mixture of emotions that crosses her face. Sympathy, doubt, but also pain. Like the thought hurt even her, but she knew she had to be rational. 

"I do not like the idea no more than you do, Y/N. Believe me on that." Pure sincerity swims in the depths of her eyes. "But I can not stay blind. I refuse to."

I open my mouth to respond but I find no words come out. It almost felt like I was frozen, like my voice had literally disappeared. "I-"

But before I could continue, the sound of Jungeun calling out to us draws us back to reality. We dart our gazes towards the blonde and realise what caught her attention instantly. Her and Olivia gesture towards the familiar flight of dreaded stairs. We arrived within record time. It really was crazy how much time passed when your mind was preoccupied. 

The overseers temple glares down at us, casting a grand shadow over the valley and the footpath we stood on. It surprised me how I didn't notice the world around us slowly darken. The grand structure seems to get larger and larger with each step we take towards it. A shutter runs down my spine when I realise what was waiting for us inside it. Or much rather, who.

Jungeun is the first to move. She hurries towards the foot of the stairs with Olivia hot on her heels then, as if making some kind of bet with the raven haired girl, she's off.  She darts off so quick I didn't even see her move, as fast as a blur. In that moment I can't stop the sudden feeling of aggravation that courses throughout me as I watch them-- as I watch the way Olivia hurries after her, much slower but still quick in her strides. Because how could Jungeun act so unbothered? How could she pretend like  nothing didn't feel right? That everything was okay?

Then the rational part of me kicks in and I fight the urge of slapping myself. How was she suppose to know? I couldn't hold it against her. She didn't know what we knew.  

I feel a sense of whiplash when I shake my head again to rid myself of my thoughts. I take a step to follow after the two girls; my feet already dreading the exercise awaiting me. But before I could even so much as get closer, the feeling of an arm wrapping around mine for the second time today stops me in my place. Confused, I tilt my head and meet Yves' gaze. I don't miss the way she bites the inside of her cheek, the way she seems to hesitate over her words. It almost looked like she acted before she could think about what she wanted to say-- like reaching out to me was an impulse she had no control over. And then she sighs, an almost apologetic look crossing her face. She avoids my gaze, and for a moment I could've sworn she was embarrassed. 

"We will continue this some other time. For now... be careful. Okay? She is innocent until proven guilty." Her voice falls to a whisper, and I practically strain myself to hear it. "It is not my intention to upset you so."

There's no fighting the slightest of flushes that crosses my cheeks. I feel the way they heat up starting from the bubbling in my chest, to the way my baby hairs raise on the nape of my neck. I didn't know how she did it. How she managed to turn me to putty with just ten words. A silent "okay" slips from my lips in response. 

She nods her head before slowly removing my arm from her grip, letting it fall back to lay limply by my side. She takes off towards the stairs with fast, long strides, and I practically trip over my own feet as I hurry after her-- much less graceful and much more clumsy. If she noticed she doesn't say anything, but I could've sworn I saw the ghost of a grin tainting the corner of her lips. It's gone as soon as it came and I chalked it up to being my own imagination.

The first few steps up towards the temple doors go by smoothly. But the next step, then the step after that... By the time we reach the top I'm completely out of breath, doubling over with my hands on my knees as I pant for air. I'm given no time to collect myself before Yves tuts and rolls her eyes, a sharp "come on" leaving her lips before she tugs me inside.

I knew I shouldn't have been so taken aback. So enamoured by just how glorious the temple looked on the inside. I'd been here before. Stood in this exact spot, staring stupidly up at the overseer and the members of the council. But I can't stop the way my lips part in awe as I take the room in once more. It looked exactly like the last time I saw it. Untouched, sleek. But unlike last, there was no mistaking the tension that consumed the air. A tension so thick I feel my mouth drying, sharing a look with Yves who mirrored my expression.

It almost felt lively last time. Bustling with life and magic, and everything in-between. It felt brighter. When my eyes scan the room in search of the familiar man, my face tugs into a frown and my grip on the journal tightens when I realise I come up short. He was nowhere to be seen. Not sitting at his grand throne like I expected him to be, not even pacing about, waiting out the war like he was exiled to. It was silent. Nothing but the sound of Jungeun and Olivia as they toy about with random antiques. 

But then it happens. The doors we walked through only seconds before slam shut behind us, the harsh motion sending a rough wind our way that nearly knocks us off our feet. We all turn to face the door in shock, eyes wide and on alert. But no one was there. It was as if they moved by themselves, as if they had a life of their own, sentient. I should've realised I was being naïve.

Turning back around to face the centre of the room, I'm the first to notice the tip of a staff pointing in our direction. At its tip is an orb, purple and blue, crackling like electricity as it glares us down in its menacing glory. It was so bright I could've sworn it was going to blind us. And then the man behind the staff steps forward so we can get a good look at his face, and I feel my heart dropping in my chest.

The man, so familiar yet so unfamiliar all at the same time. The last time I saw him had to have been mere days ago. Unlike then, now the bags under his eyes were all the more prominent, his silver hair unkempt against his forehead. His lips pulled into a tight grimace. 

"Who are you? Why have you come here?" His voice falls from his lips like a croak, as if it was the first time in days since he spoke. He looks between us, but not yet notices Olivia-- her frame hidden in the dark. It's then I realise why he was so hostile. Why he was acting so different, why he didn't seem to recognise us.

"Stop! It's only us, old man!" The words fall from my lips before I could stop them. Quickly, I tug down the hood on my cloak so my entire face is exposed to the older man. Yves and Jungeun are quick to hurry after me, mirroring my movements within a heartbeat. Olivia steps out from the shadows so she stands besides us, an unrecognisable look filtering across her face as she meets the mans eyes. Was it relief? I couldn't be sure.

Like clockwork, the overseers face lights up in recognition and he lowers his staff to his side, its orb diminishing like a flash of light. For a moment he just stares us down, no words sharing amongst the suffocating silence that consumes his temple. And then he sighs.

"Why have you come?" He reiterates, although this time his voice void of hostility. His sudden change in demeanour has a chill running down my spine and for a minute I couldn't understand why. With one hand he holds the hilt of his staff while the other folds behind his back, his legs moving so he was practically pacing in circles. My eyes follow his movements and I don't miss the way his gaze startles on the journal in my hands for the briefest of seconds, and then he's humming. 

"You have all made a big risk in being here. Especially you, princess." His eyes train specifically on hers. "Unwise. Unsafe. I hope you know what you are doing."

Yves steps forward towards the overseer with an almost pleading look on her face.

"I know. But we had to see you. We need your help."

He hums a second time and narrows his eyes. He waits a beat as if considering her words and then seems to cave, a knowing look swimming in the depths of his eyes as they dart between me, Yves, and his journal. It almost felt like he already knew what we came for without needing to say anything.

"That much is clear." 

The hand held behind his back suddenly reaches out towards me, and it doesn't take me long to realise what he wanted. Fumbling,  I quickly shove the tattered journal into his outstr