|Beyond our strengths...

         |Beyond our weaknesses... 

        |Beyond the barriers our separate people cast in the past...

       |Beyond our hatred for one another....

      |Beyond all these obstacles...

     |Our love...

    |Fate... the life set out for us before we even exist...

   |Destiny... what even the greatest prophecy cannot tell... 

  |Destiny... the life we will create with our own hands...

 |Fate... our fate was entwined... before either of us existed...

|Destiny... to change the fate between us... with our actions and our words... 

"Fire!"

Alarm.

"Help!"

Desperation.

"Stop the fire!"

Hopelessness.

"Call the guards, spread the word!"

Taking action.

"Save the palace!"

Righteousness.

"My child! Has anyone seen Min-hee?! Oh, Min-hee-ah?! Ahn Min-hee?!"

Despair.

"The flames are spreading, it's as if there's a blanket of fire rolling over the city!"

Realisation.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Heroism.

"Damn that Jung Yong-hwa! If only he stayed away!"

Excuses.

"Some prophetess Seo Joo-hyun is! If she was such an unbelievable oracle, she should have foreseen this disaster and not left!"

More excuses.

"It's too late to regret! Smother the fire!"

Hopefulness.

"Where are the water mages!?"

More hopefulness.

"If the blasted wind would just stop!"

Yearning.

"Help!"

Cries.

"Save me!!"

Selfishness.

"Help, anyone, help!"

Screams.

"Save my family, please?!"

More hopelessness.

"My wife and my child!"

Cries for help.

"How could the fire be so strong?!"

Incompetence.

"Magic can not even deter these flames?!"

"That's… right. There are things in this world not even the greatest power of magic can stop."

...Wistful?  Regret? Yearning?

Prophetess-in-training Im Yoon-ah could not find the proper word to describe her mother and teacher's expression as they once again discussed the Killing Wind. On the other hand, her mentor and mother Im Sae-hee instantly tried to avoid the topic of the Killing Wind and the Han Massacre. Sae-hee always became secretive when the Killing Wind or the Han Massacre was mentioned.

The older prophetess stood up abruptly, startling her daughter. "Yoon-ah," Sae-hee slowly eyed her daughter and student, "I think that should be it for today."

The eyebrows of the younger prophetess shot up in a questioning glance. "But--"

"A prophet never questions his or her Guardian teacher, Im Yoon-ah," Sae-hee spat at her daughter, casting a harsh glare to emphasize her power. "Go and play with your friends," Sae-hee snapped, changing her tone on the word 'friends', expressing her is disdain about the people Yoon-ah enjoyed hanging out with.

Complying to the demand Sae-hee had made, Yoon-ah stood up slowly, bowing her head and leaving the small room where one wooden table stood right in the middle, with two scarlet silk cushions laid on opposite sides of the table. Yoon-ah pushed the door sideways, smoothing the skirt of her hanbok before stepping out and sliding the door sideways again, leaving only Sae-hee in the room.

Im Sae-hee slowly sunk down the floor and picked up the scriptures on the Killing Wind and Han Massacre, flipping through the pages and eyed the scripted words.

"I think you should tell Yoon-ah. Sooner is better than later, Sae-hee."

Sae-hee eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she looked up to meet her husband's eyes and she sighed.  The prophetess snapped the book shut and carelessly tossed it across the room. "These scriptures… Yoon-ah would not understand what us Saram are writing… at least not now. These scriptures… are scripted by the Saram."

"I know that, Sae-hee. I just think maybe you should be more understanding for Yoon-ah. Her skills…"

Sae-hee shot back up and stared at her husband, anger boiling. "Don't you dare give me this lecture," she whispered in a threatening tone, "You are the one disregarding Yoon-ah's skills! You talk about her dreams as if they are nothing! You have no right to tell me what to think about Yoon-ah;  you're not her Guardian!"

"Sae-hee -yah… Im Sae-hee!"

Sae-hee composed herself once again and sat down cross legged. She looked at her husband expectantly, and only when he did not budge did she say, "Leave."

"Yoon-ah-yah!"

"Taec-yeon-ssi… Hello."

"Yoon-ah, you're still too formal," Taec-yeon chuckled at Yoon-ah's formality and motioned for her to sit down. "Call me 'oppa', okay?"

Yoon-ah's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet and she rapidly shook her head and laughed, embarrassed. "I can't do that! That's inappropriate!"

Taec-yeon laughed and simply pulled Yoon-ah along with him as he ran off into the distant plains. Yoon-ah smiled despite herself, biting her lip and stumbled along, following her dear friend.

~*************~

"Im Yoon-ah!" barked the prophet, "Where were you, young lady?!"

By the time Yoon-ah had returned to her home, it was well past dusk and most, if not all, of the street lamps where lit . The adolescent prophetess had attempted to sneak back into the house unnoticed but ultimately failed when her father, a prophet himself, had tapped her on the shoulder just as she was trying to climb through a window. With the stern face her father was holding, Yoon-ah knew that she would not be let off easily this time. Spontaneously, Yoon-ah bowed down deeply before dropping to her knees, keeping her head down in an attempt to beg forgiveness. Yoon-ah did not answer her father's question, acknowledging she had no say in the matter.

"I told you not to see that friend of yours anymore!" Yoon-ah's father hissed before turning to his servants and commanding, "Take her inside so we do not lose face in front of the neighbours. It's no good tainting the image of prophecy."

Yoon-ah wanted to cry out as the servants forcefully dragged her into the room and her eyes were watery but she knew it was no use; this time it was truly her wrong doing and she understood that. The young prophetess let out a shaky sigh and shut her warm chocolate-coloured eyes, biting her lip.

"Lock the doors."

Yoon-ah's father closed his eyes in focus, gathering his magic and focusing it into his fist, ready to charge at his daughter in order to 'teach her a lesson'. Yoon-ah couldn't stop the tears now; no matter how many times she had endured this, it was still painful - more in an emotional way rather than physical… the way her father abused his magic ability in this way… Crystalline droplets of water ran down the girl's face, her figure erupting in uncontrollable shivers.  

Yoon-ah could sense the blue sparks her father's fist was emitting. It won't be long now… Please… the sooner the better…

She swore the pure magic surge had hit her, but the shock was never registered into her mind. Instead, Yoon-ah's gaze lingered on the locked door shattering and a protective, cackling blue screen of magic suddenly appearing before her, shielding her from the upcoming doom and absorbing her father's magic along with her mother's beautiful, soothing voice…

Indeed, Sae-hee had seen the entire scene from afar before taking action. This old man doesn't get it. He is not Yoon-ah's Guardian! He cannot abuse magic this way. What he is doing is what is really tainting prophecy and the gift of magic. This… moron! Yoon-ah… my beautiful child… I'm sorry for your father. Sae-hee instantly raised her left hand - her dominant hand - and called, "Force!"

"Im. Sae. Hee! You are disturbing my ways of teaching, you - "

Sae-hee broke the shield and directed the magic at her husband in a rush. The prophet collapsed, mumbling curses and attempted to counterattack and swore some more when he realised his magic had been sealed. However, when his gaze met Sae-hee's icy glare, he instantly started shaking in fright.

Sae-hee locked eyes with her husband before offhandedly waving at her daughter, teleporting Yoon-ah into her room.

~*************~

"Yoon-ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Yoon-ah was sobbing when she registered someone was calling her, but she ignored whoever it was calling her, as she realised that her parents were going to have another magic battle. Yoon-ah let out another shaky sigh before her train of thought was once again disturbed with that annoying little nuisance of a voice.

"Yoooooooooooon-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The prophetess-in-training casually pushed and glanced out the window and gasped. "Taec-yeon!?"

Said friend grinned before looking at her, worried. "I'm sorry, Yoonie, but because I knew something would be wrong so I followed you!"

"Taec… I'm really scared. My parents," Yoon-ah's voice broke as more tears ran down her face.

Taec-yeon grabbed Yoon-ah's hands through the window and shook his head. "Yoonie, don't worry. I'm here… I know the basic spells… it's gonna be okay," Taec-yeon attempted a smile on his last phrase, slowly lifting his hands to wipe Yoon-ah's tears.

Yoon-ah smiled and giggled. "Thank you… for being here, Taec-yeon. Thank you for being a friend."

~*************~

Sae-hee broke the staring competition by saying, "Im Do Hoon. Let me make myself clear one more time.

"You are not my daughter's Guardian teacher. You have no right!"

Blue sparks exploded in the room.

A/N: Ohhhhh my gosh! Thank you to all the readers! What a hit! Last time I checked, 190 views, 7 subscribers and 2 comments! Okay, I'll admit probably half of those views are mine, but wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This is really overwhelming for me since I'm a newbie on AFF. Love to the subscribers and special thanks to:

Cooleet

And

Gooseberry27

For your supportive comments! Hope all readers (including the silent ones, *wink*) continuing enjoying the story!

Did I pack too many events into one chapter? Voice your opinion for me to improve! 

Also, a GLOSSARY: 

Killing Wind - the harsh wind that spread the fire of the Han Massacre. Originated from the northern deserts. 

Han Massacre - supposedly killed every living thing in the City by Han River.

Force/Surge - a magic spell that charges pure magic energy at a target. 

*If there are any words that I haven't explained, please drop a comment! 

NEW CHARACTERS:

Im Do Hoon - Yoon-ah's father, a prophet. Argh, I didn't want to name him since I'm lazy, but using 'Yoon-ah's father' was getting too repetitive. Aish. 

Ok Taec-yeon - Yoon-ah's friend. Comes from a family with bad background, so Yoon-ah's parents disapprove of him, especially since he has expressed his romantic interest in Yoon-ah. 

Ehhhhh, if there is anyone who wishes to make a poster... I'm too lazy ;p