“Together” Suwha said without taking her eyes off the dagger. She reached out her hand to grab it, when someone forced her on the ground. She couldn’t believe what had happened. Youngjae had pushed her aside and had taken the dagger. She looked at him in disbelief. Youngjae was eyeing the dagger with a grin on his face. “What are you doing?” she asked. He seemed bewitched, like he wasn’t in his right mind. How could he possibly do this? After all they had gone through. He didn’t answer. Instead he just turned and left the cave. Suwha wanted to know what on earth was wrong with him. She pulled herself up and followed him outside. He hadn’t gone far away. He was still standing near the cave. His eyes were still fixed on his prize. She could hear him mumble. “Finally. It’s mine.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Yours?” she asked scoffingly. For the first time since they had left the cave, he looked at her. She couldn’t read what he was thinking. “Yes.” he said with a deep voice. Suwha smiled and rolled her eyes. That had to be a bad joke. He wanted to for sure. But as she looked at him, Youngjae wasn’t laughing. Her smiled died away. “No. No, you wouldn’t.” she said slowly. He kept staring at her. “No, you are my friend.” Then he said. “I’m sorry.” He turned to leave. Anger welled up inside her. “No!” she yelled running towards him. Roughly she grabbed his arm. He tried to pull it away, hissing at her. “No, master sent us on this quest together. We planned to succeed as a team.” She tried to explain. “Plans change. You have to understand, I never depended on your help. Like I said, you should never have come.” She let go of his clothes. She was completely taken aback. What had he said? Suwha felt like a big hole had been punched into her chest. “So..” she began but her voice cracked. With much effort she forced back the tears. Youngjae turned around and looked at her. “So everything you said, everything you did, that was all a lie?” His eyes lowered. Slowly he nodded his head. He couldn’t even look her in her eyes after betraying her.

Her anger reached the top. “Well, I have something to say too. I actually feel sorry for you. If you return back home with the dagger as your prize, you may receive honour and glory, but you will never know friendship or love. You think you can’t make mistakes, but this will be the biggest mistake of your life. You will miss on a chance to get a friend. We..could have been friends. But now all I feel is pity. Go on. I won’t stop you.” He opened his mouth to respond but no words were coming out. Then he gave her one last glance and left. Suwha watched him walk away until he was nothing more than a little dot in the far distance. Tears were now pouring down her face.

At least she hadn’t cried in front of him.

Suwha had decided to go back to the temple. She had no other choice. It was her home and the only place she knew. Even when Youngjae appeared there first and showed them the dagger, she would still be welcomed back home. Or so she hoped. Maybe she could even explain master Jonghung. Tell him the truth about the quest. That Youngjae had abandoned her. It felt like ages that she wandered through the vast landscapes. Actually everything seemed different since he had left her. The nights were darker and Suwha got startled by every single noise. During the days, she felt very alone. She didn’t know if she should be happy or sad that she hadn’t met anyone along the way. Then again, there was only strange folk in these places. She always checked on her sword, resting in its sheath. She somehow felt unprotected. She wouldn’t admit it to herself but she missed him; missed him at her side, keeping her company, also protecting her from harm, even though she was able to it herself. It had been four days since they had parted. She didn’t know if he was still on the right track or if he had taken another road. Suwha had a little wish inside her, that she would catch up with him. But she tried to suppress it.

It was the fifth night that she heard the scream.

At day she had been walking towards the open fields for hours. All that she had had left to drink was gone and she had nothing to eat in her belly for several days. Suwha felt her body getting weaker. Her mind was restless but her feet were sore and all she could do was keep moving. The sun was burning down from above making her head feel dizzy. She could feel the desire for water at the tip of her tongue. Her eyes kept wandering from left to right, scanning the ground for a sign of water. The hot air sizzled on the horizon. Suwha’s eyes were tired as the rest of her but she told herself to keep going. Then, as she scanned the horizon again, she could make out a small shape in the far distance. She narrowed her eyes to see better but it was too far away. Suwha stumbled and collapsed on the ground. Her head hit the hot sand and her eyes darkened.

The sudden scream pierced through the cold air of the night. She opened her eyes wide. The wind made them tear. Quickly she got up and drew her sword. She turned her head to look at the direction the scream had come from. As swiftly as it had appeared it had died away again. Someone was in need of help, she kept thinking. Also she had a strange feeling that made her want to go. She took a deep breath and stormed into the darkness. She heard the scream again. It was slightly to her left. As she could hear that she was close to whatever was awaiting her, she slowed her pace. Crouched she sneaked up on the scenery. It was really hard to see. Suwha felt like it made no difference if her eyes were open or not. She could hardly see anything at all. Then she felt a breeze beside her. Something had touched her arm slightly. A shiver went through her body. Who was there? And why could they move, whilst she was frozen on the spot. She felt eyes staring at her in the dark. Packing all her courage together she moved on. Slowly but more and more clearly she could make out a dark shape lying on the ground. Was he dead? Or maybe it was a trap. Slowly she held up her sword and touched the body lightly. He didn’t move. Sweat was dripping down her back. Carefully she took one step closer. As she was one her knees, she could hear the person breathe. It sounded unsteady. Maybe he was hurt and that’s why he couldn’t attack her. Then he slowly turned towards her. Her heart stopped. “Youngjae?” he was looking at her with heavy eyes. She took his face and pulled him up. “What happened to you?” she asked worriedly. Her eyes examined him. He had some slashes on his face but otherwise he seemed unhurt. His hand was still holding the sword tightly. Blood was dripping down the blade. He coughed and tried to speak. “You shouldn’t have come.” Her face darkened. How could he still be this arrogant? He was clearly hurt. He needed her help and yet he still refused her. “What?” she said. “Get out of here.” His voice sounded scared. There was something in his look that made her nervous. “What’s wrong?” He pulled her down and whispered. “They’re still here.” Her eyes widened. “Who?” Then she heard the swift hissing again. Shadows flashed past her eyes, but she couldn’t make out any shapes. “It’s too late.” Youngjae said quietly. Suwha stood up quickly and tightened the grip of her sword. She waited. It was totally silent. She kept staring into the darkness. She knew they were here, but they didn’t attack. They were also waiting. She felt the red eyes glaring in the dark. But she would not turn aside. She would not leave Youngjae behind, completely unprotected. Then out of nowhere a fast blow struck her face. She touched her cheek. Hot sticky blood was oozing out of her wound. She lifted her sword ready to fight off the next attack. She heard him before she could make out his shape. Quickly she turned around to defend herself, but the sharp blade already had slashed her back. Indescribable pain went up her body.  “What is that?!” she yelled. She had been trained to withstand such attacks. Her master had taught her to fight blindfolded, but this was different. They made no noise, no moves she could hear. She felt trapped and helpless. What was she supposed to do? This couldn’t be the end of their journey. It couldn't end like on of her nightmares. They had to return to the temple, at least one of them. Suwha widened her eyes and tried to find them. If only she could have seen better. Then she heard Youngjae mumbling behind her. “Close your eyes, Suwha. Don’t rely on them. Listen. You will hear them.” She felt the strength return inside her. Youngjae was supporting her. She closed her eyes. Carefully she listened to everything she could hear. Then not far away a twig snapped. She ran and swung her sword. She could feel it hitting the enemy in the chest. He dropped down on the ground with a thud. Another scream pierced the night. She opened her eyes again. Oh no. How could she have been so foolish? She had left Youngjae alone in the dark. He was lying only metres away, but he was unprotected.  She could see a dark shape leaning over him. A blade hissed and Youngjae groaned. “No!” Suwha screamed. She ran towards him. She once again swung her sword and cut off the shadows arm. With a second blow, she killed him. She dropped her sword and kneeled beside Youngjae. He was breathing heavily clenching his hand on his chest. “Youngjae.” Tears mixed up with the drops of sweat that were dripping down her face. Between his ripped clothes, Suwha could make out a gaping wound stretched over his chest. Youngjae looked at her in fright. “Come on, Youngjae. We have to get out of here.” She tried to help him up, but he couldn’t move without screaming out in pain. She grabbed his arm and pulled it around her shoulder supporting his weight. Slowly but steadily he stood up. They looked at each other. “Can you walk?” she asked breathless. He nodded taking one step forward. Suwha led him away from the shadows' attack.

Hours went by as they made their way along the road. The sun was rising and setting again. Suwha had completely lost orientation. Youngjae had his head hanging down. His breathing was unsteady and blood was still oozing out of his gash. They hadn’t spoken but Suwha had tried everything to help his wounds. She had made a bandage to stop the bleeding. Then on the second evening after their attack Youngjae spoke for the first time. He was coughing heavily. “We must be close to the temple.” She stopped and looked at him. “How do you know?” she asked. He lifted his head to look in front. “I spotted it on the day we got attacked. It was a on hill not far away.” Suwha felt her hope return. She smiled at him. Suwha saw that he tried to return her smile, but he couldn’t. His head sunk down again and he grabbed his chest in pain. Another day passed and Suwha started to notice that it became harder and harder for her to walk on. Pain spread in her legs as she tried to support his weight. She couldn't go on like this. Not for very much longer...