Siwon groaned, pain tore throughout every nerve of his body. “Hey, are you finally up?” Whose voice was that? Siwon cracked his eyes open, his gaze was a blur of shades of grey and brown, vision swimming as everything began to come into focus. He hissed, clenching his eyes shut at the sunlight that trickled into the room.

“Who are you?” he asked, throat dry as he rasped out the words, taking in the young man’s face as it hovered above him.

“My name’s Henry. I saw you and your friend on my land, you were being chased. Do you remember?” the young man asked. He was dressed in a pair of faded tan pants, worn thin at the knees, a dark brown poncho over top of a tanned shirt. His clothes were ill kept and showed signs of tearing and fraying.

“Remember? Remember what?” Siwon questioned as he laid his head back against the animal furs he’d been placed over with a few furs used to cover his body.

“How did you come onto these lands?” Henry asked, trying another tactic.

Siwon’s brows furrowed, hissing as he clenched his eyes shut as a barrage of images clamored for dominance. His eyes shot open as he darted up, falling back to the fur bedding as a sheen of sweat broke out over his forehead, chest heaving as his teeth clenched.

“Careful!” Henry chastised; eyes wide as he shot away from Siwon to cross the large sparse room, returning with a shallow wooden bowl full of water. A rag was clutched in his other hand as he sat back down beside Siwon and dipped the rag into the water, ringing it out.

“Where’s my sword?” Siwon ground out through his clenched his teeth.

Henry frowned as he began dabbing the rag over Siwon’s forehead. “Gone.”

“That is my sword, you will return it to me.” Siwon ordered.

“Or you’ll do what? You’re in no place to make demands of me.” Henry snapped. “You can hardly move, Celosia damn near killed you, you’ve been unconscious for a week. One. Week.” Henry repeated.

“Celosia?” Siwon asked.

“The colossus that was chasing you, I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.”

“Why did you save me?”

“Why shouldn’t I have saved you?” Henry countered.

“You’re one of the cursed aren’t you?” Siwon asked, alarms blaring in his head. “You’re a guardian.” He snarled.

 Henry stiffened. “And if I am? So what? That means I should have left you to die? Or perhaps, you expected that from me?” He challenged. Siwon said nothing, and as the moments ticked away, Henry pulled his arm back.

Henry swallowed, clearing his throat as he stood up and made his way over to the wide opening of the room that held a beautiful view of the hills, covered in mist in the early morning light. Henry paused by the edge, and bringing two fingers to his lips, let out a shrill whistle. He turned back to Siwon and smiled as a loud rumbling resounded from the distance. Birds called out as they took  to the skies as heavy footfalls that shook the ground came near. A shadow fell over the room before a large grey and white stone lowered until a single glowing blue eye was staring into their room. Siwon paled, trying to edge away, but his limbs were heavy and sluggish, hardly able to even twitch his fingers.

“This is Phaedra, and welcome to our home. My name’s Henry, and together, we’ll be looking after you. I hope you’ll enjoy yourself.”

Silence had descended over the pair after Henry’s introduction, and Siwon saw no reason to break it anytime soon. His mind a mess as his heart beat madly in his chest, always watching the guardian out of the corner of his eye. How was this possible? They’d been exterminated! Yet, here one was, and if there was one, how many others had managed to slip away unnoticed? His heart plummeted at the very notion. He had to find his sword! He had to be armed, but the guardian was right, he was much too weak. He could feel it in his very bones, even so much as a twitch of his fingers took an insurmountable amount of energy.  For now he was at the guardian’s mercy, but that would change, his body would recover and once it did, he’d make sure it was the guardian at his mercy. /oh yes, you’ll be at my mercy soon enough. / He thought savagely, he wouldn’t be at the guardian’s mercy for long.

Henry had gone out a little while later, leaping out of the wide open window and on top of the colossus head, lowered to make the landing easier. The ease, in which he’d made the jump, let Siwon know that it was a common occurrence. The pair was gone for several hours, returning only as the sun began to dip behind the hills, an orange and dark blue hazy settling over the sky. Siwon refused to reply to the greeting Henry gave as he leapt off his colossus and back into the wide room, dropping a few dead hares from his shoulder as he went about preparing a fire. The food was prepared in silence, and when it was time to eat, Henry had to assist Siwon.

“You really can’t stand me can you?” Henry asked as he pulled away once he was finished feeding Siwon, seating himself on the other side of the fire. Siwon said nothing, gritting his teeth to keep from lashing out. He needed this boy’s assistance if he was to get better and continue on his journey. He had to complete that, once that was done he’d inform the officials and let them worry with how to extinguish the vermin that remained. “Can I ask you what I’ve even done to earn such hate?” he asked softly, his gaze pulling away from Siwon to look into the crackling fire. “Because, I’ve thought about it and thought about it all day, but all I can come up with is simply: that I exist at all. I say that because, I haven’t hurt you, or anyone. Phaedra hasn’t either…So I don’t understand how you can hate me, when this is our first time even meeting. I don’t hate you, but you scare me.” Henry murmured. “I think it’s your eyes.” Henry admitted, trying to fill the silence. “You look at me with such…hate…it’s like you really want to kill me, but I don’t even know why.”

“You’re cursed.”

“You keep saying that, but do you even know what that means? Tell me, how am I cursed? Because I live here? I can’t control where I live, I’ve always lived here. My parents lived here.” Henry defended.

“You control that thing,” Siwon spat, voice a harsh rasp, “it’s un-natural.”

“Phaedra? I don’t control him. We’re friends.”

Siwon scoffed, “and tell me, how did you give life to that creature? Do you intend to tell me it has always been in existence?” he snapped, not missing Henry’s wince.

Henry swallowed as he took a deep shaky breath, hand clutching a metal poker as he stoked the fire with trembling hands. “No, it hasn’t always been in existence.” He conceded.

“Why did you save me?”

“You needed help—“

“Don’t lie.” Siwon barked, breaking into a fit of coughs. As Henry scrambled to get up, he stopped as Siwons cold gaze fell on him. “It was awfully convenient of you to arrive after my friend had already been sent to his death.”

“You think I mean to kill you?” Henry gasped, Siwon said nothing, and that was enough. “That makes no sense! Why would I spare you, only to kill you later? If I had wanted you dead I would have left you to Celosia! I’m sorry I didn’t come in time to save your friend, but I saved you! Now you want to accuse me of such a thing?!” Henry balked. “What reason do you have to want me dead? Why are you so full of hate for a race you didn’t even know?! You say I’m from a “cursed race”, but that is your only justification for such hate…

“You and your entire race are full of disgusting—you were all steeped in sin and dark magic. You worshipped a demonic god and created these-these abominations—“ Siwon snapped, unable to hold it in any longer.

“So that’s your justification for you and your ancestors have for wanting my race dead; For entering our lands and slaughtering everyone? Why is it such a crime for me to exist? My mother, my father, and my little brother, why did they—“ he paused, taking a deep shaky breath as tears stung his eyes glaring down at Siwon, “Why did they have to die for your fear? We never hurt you, even now am I hurting you now? When you’re at my mercy, I could. Heechul wanted me too, but what would be the point? You’ve already won! There’s no one here, but ghosts of the past. There’s none left to rise up against you and take revenge…why did so many have to die? Politics? Religion? Our customs and beliefs? So many dead…and for what?” Henry asked.

“Your people were plotting a war, we had to protect ourselves.”

“How can you say that?” Henry snarled. “My parents were good people! My brother—“ he trailed off as a sob tore from his throat, “was my brother apart of that plot?” Henry whispered, eyes swimming with tears as he caught Siwon’s gaze. “History is always written by the winners…but has anyone bothered to talk to the losers?” Henry asked as he turned away from Siwon and headed to his own pile of furs spread out upon the ground on the other side of the room.

They said nothing to each other for a time, Henry’s soft muffled cries the only noise against the crackling of the flames. “No one ever said they wanted so many to die. It’s always terrible when the crimes of those in power influence everyone.” Siwon spoke softly before he turned his gaze upwards to stare at the ceiling above. Henry didn’t respond; Siwon never expected him too.

a/n: I'm not wholly satisfied with this chapter, but I'm trying to develop more with the two characters. I hope it wasn't too boring for anyone, and if I lose readers i won't be surprised. Still, if anyone wants to keep reading the next chapter will reveal Eunhyuk's fate and introduce a new character;