Youngjae checked he had tied well his new amulet around his wrist. But as he wasn't sure he checked it well, he did it again. And better do it thrice. Usually, everything's fine once people checked or did something three times right ? But does this make everything alright so far ? No, in order to not let any chance to hazard, Youngjae kept checking his wristband.

“Can we leave now ?

– I have to make sure everything's alright !”

The whole guards and peasants were waiting after Youngjae.

“O...okay. I think it's fine like this...” the young peasant said and started to walk toward the city's doors as if he didn't hear all the others who had kept waiting for him to be ready during one hour, complaining.

The young guard laughed as his friend was too obsessed with his anti-magic things and didn't gave a about all the humans surrounding him. People who, if he kept pissing them off, would beat him to death, soon. So Jongup couldn't say if his peasant friend was a coward or not.

Once you excited the city there was a long right path with no end. Far you could perceive the forest which was surrounding Mato's fields. The forest was abundant and abounding danger, it was almost covering throughout the country. That's why the country wasn't sure, the city of Mato being one of the few cities having unobstructed view thanks to its fields. Other cities didn't farm the land, too afraid to get out of their walls. Mato had this specialty to have guards among his population. Guards who had deserted their previous city to come live in Mato. Others cared only about their Royals, so they didn't grant their people with guards to protect them.

Mato's fields were cotton, grape, wheat and barley. The peasants divide their works into four and exchanged the fields they had to work on every months. So they all knew how to cultivate each one of the type field, and it wouldn't be big deal if the peasants in charge of wheat came to disappear, because the others knew how to make it grow. This month Youngjae had to work in the grape's field. He worked over there with his family which was composed from his father, his mother, his three younger brothers, his big sister and his two little sisters; and five other families like his. Kids started to work in field at the age of twelve (age that from it there were less chance for them to fall sick and die), so it was the first day of his younger sister who just had celebrated her twelfth birthday.

Jongup walked with him and his father, for each peasant group they were four guards. He liked to stick to Youngjae's group even if they weren't the one to decide who they had to defend at first, but no one could make him change his minds. Youngjae thought it was because Jongup liked to tease and make him angry by any way he could. But it was Yongguk who had ask Jongup to, and the young guard agreed with his friend that Youngjae's fear toward magic wasn't something as little as they could let the others know. They feared magic too, but as they were the ones to protect the others, they shouldn't show it to others. They couldn't.

Youngjae was someone who needed to be reassured always and every time, which was what Jongup was doing standing by his sides. And to a bit too, grabbing him by his neck with his arm to ruffle his hair with his free hand. They argued every time but in truth they get along well, it was their relationship which was like this, the two always looking for a fight with the other, and in the end they almost spent their whole free times together. Arguing, but together.

They finally reached the fields and started to work. Youngjae's father was old, his mother and sisters were woman (of course...) and his brothers were too young, so it was Youngjae's duty to carry the big basket his family filled up to the brim with grapes, until it became several pounds, three times heavier Youngjae's own weight.

After a few hours, they had done five rows and they took a little rest to drink. Youngjae walked to Jongup who was sitting on the carriage and his friend gave him his bottle. The peasant boy finished the bottle in two gulps, dropping a lot outside his mouth and on his face. “What a slacker...” Youngjae mumbled eyeing his resting friend while he wiped his face.

“Need to be in good shape in case if...” Jongup laughed reaching out his own bottle to his thirsty friend.

“In case if what ? The sun falls on our heads ? What can you do if anything happen ?” The guard boy only smirked back in answer while Youngjae drunk all his water. “RAH! DON'T SMIRK TO ME LIKE THIS!”

Youngjae threw his bottle back to Jongup and he got scolded for that. He didn't have the right to talk back to Jongup, even if themselves thought about the other as, they weren't equal. Youngjae being a peasant was under Jongup on the social ladder, because the last one was a guard. Among the little group of friend, from bottom to the upper : Youngjae, Jongup, Yongguk, Himchan. Himchan was an orphan so he should be under Youngjae, but as he was living with the Doctor, it was like he had been adopted by him.

The only being under peasant in the city was the mage, but he didn't even counted as a Matoki. Matoki being the name given to Mato city inhabitants. When they were still from this world, the mage's parents were fish sellers, they counted as traders so they were above peasant, under guards but above Youngjae. It wasn't the boy in himself that Youngjae feared and hated, but what he incarnated. Magic. Youngjae had never witnessed something magic, and he hoped he would never, but he did agreed (internally) with what Jongup said : they had never had proof that magic was real. And it reassured Youngjae each time he heard Jongup saying that, so he argued back telling magic was a part of their world for Jongup to reassure him again, and on and on. But his fear came back each time there were new arrivals.

The newcomers were always the same when they arrived. Frightened, terrified, scared, traumatized, their fear over flowing from them and contaminating Youngjae. He didn't know what they were afraid of but he started sharing their fear since he's kid. He didn't know what it was besides the name : Magic. But what was really 'magic', he never experienced it. He saw family arriving screaming, crying, sad they lost members of their family, blood on their clothes, on their horses, on their caravans. Maybe it was blood of the same people they were crying for, Youngjae never dared to ask them. He was curious but too scared of what they could tell him to ask.

Royals were hiding things from their people, only this mere fact was the most scary thing ever. If they wanted to hide it to the people, it should be something really dangerous and frightening, and just for that, Youngjae was scared. He felt unsecured everywhere he stood. Magic creature couldn't enter Mato, because the city was protected against magic, and yet that mage was living inside. Why didn't someone tell the Royals there was such a threat inside their walls ? Maybe people thought the mage would want to get revenge on the one who will denounce him. That would meant, they didn't feel secured neither. But Mato is the best well guarded City, that's what everybody who arrives in their city tells. So Youngjae wouldn't even imagine what it was like outside. He would never leave Mato if it was worst outside.

Jongup kept watching Youngjae, and he took the occasion no one was watching them to throw a rock to him. Youngjae snapped out his thoughts and glared to him annoyed ready to burst.

“WHA-

– Stop thinking about useless matters...” Jongup said with a tone which sounded dead much too serious to be real.

“what ?” Youngjae wasn't used to that solemn side of the guard boy and it seemed like he wasn't the same.

“If you could watch the face you were doing. You were more scaring than all the scary things you were thinking about...focus on your work Youngjae.” They watched in their eyes for a moment, the peasant boy trying to read in the other eyes if the other was making fun of him right now or not. He couldn't further his question as his father slapped the back of his head, telling him to stop day dreaming and to go back to work. When Youngjae had the time to, he glanced to the guard boy and he saw him looking with that same serious look he was wearing earlier. Jongup was watching the forest afar, as if it was calling for him. At that instant, Jongup seemed like a trapped bird who couldn't fly like he wanted.

Youngjae already doubted his friend to want more adventure and action to happen in the city, that's why he always teased the mage, but now he was seeing his friend like this, he cursed himself to be that coward. He wished he was as courageous as him so they could go discover the world. Youngjae was as curious about the world as Jongup, his fear about magic making it less obvious. The sun started to lowered in the sky and to reach the top of the forest. “We're going home !” It was time for the peasant to gather. They had to walk together to the city, in case of anything...

When Youngjae and Jongup were walking side by side at the end of the crowd they could talk like they wanted without anyone telling them to care about their social position, or other . “Are you ok ? Not too hard your day ?” The peasant boy snorted rubbing his hurting back the best he could with his hands. “You want me to massage you ?” Jongup laughed but not too long as a wolf's cry was heard, followed by others. Everybody froze for a second before speeding their step. “Hurry! They're near!”

They all sped up, but Youngjae had wore the big basket the whole day and was tired, he couldn't walk same speed as the others, Jongup stayed by his side, slowing down his walk, watching around them alarmed, listening any weird sound. That's when he saw the wolves coming out the forest and running toward them. They only had a few meters until they reached the City's door and the wolves were still a bit afar, they could make it but not with Youngjae's actual speed. Jongup grabbed Youngjae and put him on his back.

He started running but he knew he wouldn't make it. He knew it as he heard the wolves becoming to be too much near from them. And he knew it he had no other choice than to grab out his swords to pierce the wolf who had grabbed Youngjae's leg, making him fall on the ground. The peasant boy let out a loud cry when the beast's fangs closed on his skin. Jongup didn't like to kill animals, that's why he never went to the hunt, but he had no choice here, it was the wolf or his friend.

He grabbed back Youngjae and did his best to keep away the rest of the wolf pack, making his sword slicing the air around them. Finally they were at the city's door and the wolves went back to the forest. Jongup kept walking until the Doctor's house and on their way there, he heard his friend whispering in his back “thank you”.

When the Doctor was healing Youngjae's wound, they all gather in his home and outside wondering why the wolves had attacked them. Usually, wolves did that sort of attack when they were really hungry and there wasn't left to eat as in winter. But they were in the midst of spring, the food out there was thriving as it was the breeding season, and it had been good this year. This was weird, but they couldn't come with anything on their own, so they needed to wait for the Royals to explain them, as they were the only one, knowing what was going on outside the city's walls, and if they said nothing, would mean it was nothing important. Well, not that important so they needed to inform the population.

With his fresh wound, Youngjae couldn't go work to the fields for a month, letting his family alone. He got scolded and beaten by his father to be reckless. His family wouldn't earn enough so they wouldn't be able to eat properly for the next two months, they already barely made it when Youngjae was helping them. Also he did put a guard's life at stake. A peasant was much more easy to replace than a guard.

Finally, when he could sink into what he called his bed, which was much more like straw with a tissue covering it, Youngjae noticed that the wristband serving as an amulet was no more attached on his skin. Did he lost it before, while or after the wolves' attack ?

2279 words