“When you said a village that has nobody I didn’t think you meant a ghost town.” Yeojin remarked as they walked through the empty streets of Ganta, a village on the outskirts of Tsume. The people here were prideful refusing to ask for the kingdoms aid and the kingdom didn’t simply hand out favours it had been like that for centuries. Change, a bitter pill nobody was willing to swallow.

“From what I heard people have been going missing alarmingly quick.” Kim Lip stated stopping her horse in front of the village chiefs house.

“We were here last year and the village was fine.”

“Rumour has it Tsume wanted to add Ganta to its kingdom however the people refused so the queen cursed the village.” Kim Lip replied earning a chuckle from Yeojin it had been awhile since she’d spoken to her sister but she wasn’t like that, she knew her sister and she was better than resorting to ‘cursing’ a village. Well that was before...No Yeojin huffed stopping her mind from spiralling down that road, she had a task at hand, on that needed her head on straight not looking back.

“Curses aren’t even real.” Yeojin muttered kicking the dirt with a small pout as Lip knocked on the door.

“You, you look familiar who are you?” The village chief asked looking at the two girls frantically, a frown etched in to his worried hazy state, wrinkles deeply engraved in to his once clear skin, he looked battered, even slightly crazed as his flitted outside the home.

“We took care of your wraith issue last year we’re here to solve your missing people problem now.” Kim Lip replied to which the man ushered the two in quickly slamming the door behind them. The house was a mess with papers strewn all over the place indecipherable writing scrawled all over them causing a grimace to overcome Lip, even though she didn’t have a home she still liked things to be clean and orderly this looked like a hurricane stormed through.

“Erm nice place.” Yeojin tried complimenting as she side stepped a broken vase however the man simply ignored her rushing to the other side of the room plucking various sheets of parchment.

“15 days 7 people have gone missing.” He stated passing the parchment to the duo that saw drawings of the people who had gone missing all of them being young teens or children.

“They’re kids.” Yeojin mumbled a wave of empathy taking over her as she traced a hand over the image of the children the chief nodded pacing about the room his feet unable to stay calm.

“We do not know what is taking them it could be the work of a curse for all I know.”

“Let me guess you believe it was the Queen of Tsume?” Lip asked earning a frantic nod from the man’s bulging eyes.

“She had come to us a week prior killing a beast that had gotten near our borders, she came to us as if she did us a favour when we did not ask her for the aid.” The man spouted earning a heated glare from Yeojin.

“She did nothing else? Was she angry? Did she say anything in a funny cursey language?” Yeojin questioned the wide eyed man who stopped his pacing for a moment to look at the two girls.

“No but her silence was enough for me to know what she was thinking, she’s her father’s blood she’ll kill us all she will.” Yeojin felt the anger building up in her as she watched the man go on her fists clenched, eyes harrowing, her sister was nothing like that man Yeojin huffed readying a punch however Kim Lip stood before her stopping any action she was ready to take.

“Forget all that just tell us do you know anything that happened to the kids?”

“It’s the same thing each time they leave and never return it’s that que…”

“Right we’ve got all we need.” Kim Lip interrupted tired of the old man’s tirade with a pointed stare she ushered Yeojin out of the man’s house before the younger girl decided to strangle him.

“He’s delusional.” Yeojin muttered kicking a rock on the floor as they took their horses away from the village chiefs house the silence between them giving time for Yeojin to think of the different ways she could have hit him.

“We’ll stay at the stables like last time.” Kim Lip stated opening the door for the younger girl. “Stay here with the horses I’ll ask the family members about what happened.”

“But I want to come to.” Yeojin protested.

“You need time to cool off take a break for yourself and when I come back we’ll find out what really happened to these kids.” Hesitantly agreeing to her friends words she watched as the older girl left the stables to help whilst she felt herself collapse on to her trusty stead, hugging the mare as tight as she could allowing her tears to fall freely.

Being so close to Tsume was fine for her, the people had labelled her an ungrateful brat she could deal with it but her sister wasn’t evil like their father so why was she being labelled as such? It had now been five years since she last saw her sister but she still knew the girl well enough to know what she would and wouldn’t do. There was a longing for her sisters hug to tell her everything would be alright just like when they were kids, she missed the times she would do pranks with her personal guard Heejin and then secretly raid the kitchens with her sisters guard Hyunjin, even when her sister was married she made sure to make time for her and Vivi never minded instead the foreign girl set time aside to go on walks with Yeojin to get to know her better. She had a good life before the betrothal came ugh she thought shaking her head, no I’m not thinking of that again Yeojin reprimanded sitting on the floor. She was past that now, she had to be past it, she was a hunter now she protected the people who said she would be the one for their downfall even if she was only known to her people as Princess Yeojin the embarrassment, she was at least able to be Yeojin the peoples hunter elsewhere. She was useful. She was making a change. She was proud of her work and that was the most important thing. Yeah she coud believe it if she said it enough times, right?

“Here have some food.” Kim Lips voice called breaking through the girls’ inner monologue looking across her she saw the girl sitting with a plate of food for the two of them. “One of the family’s was grateful that we’re trying to help so they gave us some food they mentioned the village chief has gone crazy micromanaging each household telling them what food is cursed and what’s not he even placed a curfew of sunset  that’s why the village is empty.”

“Told you he’s mad.” Yeojin said digging in to the food, it was cold and dry however considering the circumstances they were in she could do little to judge the state of food the villagers were forced to endure with a chief like that.

“Seems like all the kids that disappeared were out doing a job for their parents so they were taken from different parts of the village.”

“Is there a chance it was somebody from the village?” Yeojin asked.

“Maybe but where would they have taken the kids it’s a small village somebody would have heard something or they would have seen something.” Kim Lip replied putting the food down she’d save that for tomorrow they needed to keep an eye on their supplies. “We’ll need to keep an eye on the kids and see if anything strange happens.”

“The chiefs the strangest thing in the village.” Yeojin muttered as she watched the chief taking food from the boy expelling things deemed unholy such as apples and fish leaving the boy with little else. It had been like this for the past week nothing strange had happened so they split up scouting the borders hoping they’d find something though nothing did, part of her felt like the chief had exaggerated things to them. However the families were living proof something had happened and she’d be damned if she left the family’s like this.

“Hey, you.” The village chief started turning to face Yeojin. “It’s sunset get back to wherever you stay.”

“How will we find anything if we have to finish so early?” Yeojin questioned earning a frantic shake of the head.

“Go now before somebody is taken it’s been too quite lately.” And with a final look in his wide pleading eyes Yeojin turned around and walked towards the stables, the people were rushing to their homes as they tried to avoid the chief. She had met all of the villagers in her search, they seemed nice enough a few believed the chiefs’ words about Haseul the others simply wanted to find their children. She even played with the children to make sure they were all in her line of sight and nothing would happen to them, Kim Lip didn’t object to her technique much to her surprise though the older girl was just glad she wouldn’t have to keep an eye on as many children anymore or interact with any, Kim Lip was bad with kids, very bad Yeojin thought chuckling to herself as she looked over at the area where a kid hit Kim Lip with their ball yesterday. It was darkening not just sunset yet but Yeojin could see the outline of a figure guess I should help them before the village chief finds them Yeojin thought having to blink twice. She had to be wrong there was no figure there now, no she was sure she saw something, with quick steps she rushed to the spot where she had seen the outline. Fresh footsteps lay in the mud, there was somebody here and they led down the hill, with care she followed the footsteps down the hill and in to a flat patch of grass. There was nobody in sight but she couldn’t lose this lead it was the only thing they’d found in a whole week so with strained eyes she continued following what she could make of the trail all the way to an edge. It was far from the village much farther than she anticipated as it bordered Tsume a faint outline of the kingdoms walls could barely be made out.  “Take three tomorrow from those spots we’re running out of bodies.” A voice said from below Yeojin, she found them and if she was hearing them right there were six of them. Six against one the girl had to sigh, how was she to fight so many of them alone oh how she wished she had grabbed Kim Lip before running all the way here.

“Good work.” Kim Lip said beside Yeojin surprising the younger girl who clutched her hands together silently thanking the deities for her friends timely appearance.

“You are an albsolute idiot, who comes so far by themselves?” The village chief whisper shouted at the younger girl who looked at the two in confusion.

“He saw you leaving the village and grabbed me we followed the trail all the way here.” Though Yeojin would never admit it she was glad the chief had some sense to call on her friend and follow her, guess I can thank the deities for giving him some sense Yeojin thought turning back to look at Lip. “Anyways can you fight?”

“For my people of course.” The man said unsheathing his sword the despair now gone from his voice as he looked calm and collected for the first time since they met this year.“The element of surprise is on our side two each and we’ll be fine.”Surprise was indeed on their side as they silently crept through the camp taking out target after target the surge of revenge stoking the strike of each slash. Following the cave opening silently taking care of any bandits they came across with three of them the work was easy to do but to look at the aftermath was another thing. Standing in the centre of the room they were greeted to the sight of blood adorning the cave walls a rotting smell hung in there a smell familiar to the girl as she looked down at the carcass of a human. A wave of nausea hit Lip as she carefully looked at an arm carelessly laying by the carcass ebbing’s scratched on to the skin familiar ebbing’s which weakened her knees. The cries of the village chief diverted her attention to the man who was busy hugging the head of a child who should have been alive. 

“This couldn’t be Tsumes work.” Yeojin stated as she looked over the body of a bandit no badge or crest to indicate who he was affiliated with. “It was never a curse it was these strange bandits doing the work.”

“But why do this to my people? To the children, they did nothing they’re innocent.” The man cried hitting the wall as Yeojin went to comfort him. Lip stepping away from the room the feeling of death and guilt suffocating her, slipping further in to the cave to escape the chief’s cries she tripped over something the metallic clang drawing her attention picking it up she saw a blue betta, the crest of Avent. With careful steps the hunter followed the trail of blood taking out her dagger just in case, entering the room the helmet fell on to the floor a resounding clang! Resonated as Lip looked on bewildered at the sight of bodies piled up on each other familiar ebbing’s scratched on to the skin, parts of the body seemingly mutilated. The nausea kicked in harder with quick steps Lip turned around and walked away needing to get away from the bodies, from the armour, the armour Lip thought if the armour was here then those were the guards mentioned, she had found the place Olivia and Gowon were looking for and they had those markings those stupid God forsaken ma… Wait why was her foot stuck? Looking down a chill went down her spine it was cold here much colder than the cave was beforehand her foot was stuck in a web sweeping her eyes up to the ceiling her actions frozen as she saw the cocoons of people. All dead. They were all dead Lip thought a slither of fear seeping its way through her, spiders enjoyed torturing their prey leaving them in a web cocoon leaving them to rot, the smell making the food sweeter for them but truly the more scared the prey the better the spiders fed. A blue betta in the web caught the hunters attention, it was probably a guard, a guard that had been there since either the first or second attack. A skittering sound alarmed the girl looking around she saw nothing but she wasn’t prepared to venture in a tunnel full of spiders no, the cocoons here were to draw out the smell of fear from humans to attract the spiders whose true layers were further down. Using the dagger in hand she freed herself without looking back she ran and ran straight in to Yeojin who was stood outside of the armour room. 

“Lip are you okay?” Yeojin asked the hunter who was busy looking back at the distance.

“There’s a den of spiders down there looks like they’ve got people from Avent and God knows who else.” Lip replied signalling Yeojin to follow her out of the cave not trusting the spiders to just stay in one place.

“Spiders like the huge 15ft ones?” Yeojin asked looking back where Lip came from.

“Definitely the big ones.” Lip replied earning a squeak from the younger girl.“Do you think the spiders ate the people?”

“Probably but it seems like the bandits had a bigger hand in this than we know if word gets out that Avent’s guards were found here people are going to think it was Tsume.” Lip said as they stopped walking eyes now focused on the broken village chief.

“It wasn’t my sister we need to make sure nobody finds the guards bodies until we speak to her.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We talk to her.”

“What so we just walk in?” Kim Lip asked feeling a slither of dread worm its way through her as the younger girl flashed a smirk her way.