he troops marched north towards Rosecreek in an organized fashion. The auburn clouds of early morning shined down upon them as they walked forward, towards a fate they could not predict. Hearts were heavy. No one wanted to face the brutal forces of Shanxue. The soldiers all knew the rumors; Shanxue was a blood drinking country, their nameless general was death’s epitome, their emperor, the infamous Kris was deadly and strong.

From on top his silver mare, Chanyeol could hear the thumping heartbeats of his troop. His brothers, his men, were worried. He could tell that there was fear in their eyes. Chanyeol was frankly, the same. There was the risk that the fear his soldiers felt right now would follow them on top the battle grounds. They would have lost the battle before it even begun.

He stopped the troops, holding up his right hand, halting his men from walking forward. Tao looked up at him curiously from the black horse he rode upon. Chanyeol turned his stallion around so that he was facing the men that rode behind him.

“My brothers. You are worried that we will die, our bodies sewn across the battle grounds, our bloods staining the soil.”

Chanyeol removed the bow that was hanging from his back. It was white and lined with a golden edge, majestic and carved with exquisite designs. The Bow of Courage. He could feel thousands of years of history in the wood of the bow. It was a bow that was well known throughout the lands, the bow that great warriors conquered with, that great kings wield, and now it was Chanyeol’s.

“You recognize this bow. The wielder of it has the greatest power in the world. Courage. We will lose if we lose that courage. Never,” Chanyeol commanded, “never forget that you are fighting for your country, for the loved ones waiting for your return. Think of them first before you worry for your own life, or else even if you die, your life won’t be worth remembering.”

“Yes sir!” His soldiers replied, faces lit again from the presence of the historic bow, a bow Chanyeol had been granted for saving Chunyu a few years ago. He did it once, his men believed he could do it again.

Tao, too, looked at Chanyeol. But his eyes were not bright like the eyes of Chanyeol’s men. His eyes were sad and regretful, hinting at some coming catastrophe. In particular, his eyes settled on the bow that Chanyeol grasped in his hand, almost spiteful as they ran up the long spine of the white wood. He shook his head as he took the reins of his horse in his hands again and resumed the march forward.

Chanyeol followed after him.

“You see something.”

Tao nodded, but as usual, gave no response.

“Tell me, Tao, what is it you predict?”

Tao gave no sign of hearing Chanyeol’s question and instead went back into his own world, leaving Chanyeol’s heart cold. Something was off about this battle they were going into. In the end, would he really be sending all of his men on a battle that could not be won? Was it right to push them forward on this path if Tao already foreseen their death?

“I don’t mind, Tao that you don’t speak, ever, but sometimes I wish you did. It gets lonely you know?”

But as usual, Tao did not respond and Chanyeol turned back to the skies that stretched out before him. He felt small underneath it. The heavens were always so vast and consuming, suffocating him underneath it, because he was so small and isolated. Nothing in the world kept him connected.

Yes, he fought for a kingdom he loved, for a king he respected, for a dream he lived for. But it was not enough, because even know, the only thing he wanted to fight for was still far from him, hidden somewhere under the vastness of the sky that connected all things beneath it. Chanyeol would never feel whole, never feel complete, never because Baekhyun was not with him.

How were you supposed to achieve a dream when that dream manifested out of the desire to protect a person who was now lost to you? Was it possible to live and fight for that dream if the reason you had it in the first place was now dead?

It was times like this that Chanyeol wished he had someone to talk to, someone to distract him. If only Tao would say something…then Chanyeol wouldn’t feel as though he were drowning under the bloody weight of his thoughts.

He tried to focus on the journey in front of them instead. By nightfall they would reach the village. By dawn Chanyeol was sure that Shanxue’s troops would arrive as well. As Chanyeol tried to think of different tactics for the fight that was to come, but as the cold of the agate that hung around his neck froze against his skin, he found his thoughts continuously interrupted by images of Baekhyun.

“God damn it,” Chanyeol whispered under his breath. He was deteriorating into nothing but pain and suffering. Breathe, he told himself, breathe. You have a war to fight, don’t bring your heart to battle.

Emotions had no place on the field he was about to walk on.

It was chilled night when they arrived at the village. The villagers were already waiting. They had been notified of the coming arrival of their protectors. Chanyeol was immediately greeted by the soft smiles of hopeful people. His heart swelled. This was his purpose.

The village head came up to him and took his hand, shaking it gratefully. “General! We are all in debt to you. We have prepared resting spots for you and all of your men within our homes. Please come, food has been prepared as well, those not as exquisite as you are surely used to. But please bear with us.”

Chanyeol nodded, but as he let the village head lead him away towards the feast that his people had surely worked long hours to prepare, his eyes drifted instead to the wall that marked the edge of Chunyu’s border. That was the position they had to defend. If the wall fell, all else would fall with it.

It was a crumbling wall.

Chanyeol’s eyes glossed over the entirety of the barrier that would surely fall, even from natural forces. Things did not look good. Then suddenly, as his eyes ran over the sealed gate separating the two kingdoms and wilderness, he realized something.

He turned worriedly to the village head, horror on his face.

“Who opened the lock?”

Catching the fear in the general’s voice the village head’s face turned pale. He stuttered, “Gen-general, we never touch the lock.”

“Damn it.” Chanyeol turned away from the village head and instead addressed his troops that had now caught air of the changed situation. He pointed to one of the secondary generals, Xi Luhan.

“Take the villagers and thirty men with you. Get them to the nearest town from here and make sure they are safe.”

Luhan nodded and automatically, almost mechanically since he was trained for this job meticulously, gathered the villagers and the men and led them away from the scene. Chanyeol smiled slightly, knowing that Luhan would lead them to safety. But the smile did not last long as the chilled atmosphere of the night resumed.

“They’re here. They’ve arrived before us and have already infiltrated into the village.” Chanyeol pointed at the damaged lock hanging on the gate. It could be seen that some type of blade had ripped apart the failure security. There was no doubt in his mind that the lock had been jabbed at and then the door opened so that one may sneak in.

“They will not attack yet. I predict that they have only sent a scout to infiltrate and find out more of the conditions. But they are near. God knows how far they have stationed from the gate, but they are there.”

Hushed whispers came over his troops as they discussed the new conditions. It was not good. As it was now, Chanyeol was in the light while Shanxue was in the dark. The element of surprise was particularly vital in fights such as these. There was little they could do to savage the situation now.

“Tao, go find the scout they have sent and bring him back to me.”

Tao gave a slight grin of confidence as he left, turning around and went to the south. He had already seen where the scout was. It was good having Tao.

Chanyeol sent the rest of his men to defend the wall; now that the lock had faltered, it was possible only to defend it with swords. In the bloodiness of night, Chanyeol did not need Tao’s ability of foresight to know that many would die. Already he saw the stains of blood dripping into the dark earth until all became red. Already he could hear the screams of soldiers as steel ran through flesh. That was the cruelty of battle; that was the suffering one had to bear in order to protect.

Chanyeol stood strong, his hand tight on the shaft of his bow. They would not sleep tonight. It was too dangerous to sleep. Tonight, they would fight.

♥

Baekhyun sat against the wall, melting into the dark around him in the southern edge of the village grounds. His heart thumped against his chest, beating rapidly. He clutched his sword tightly until his knuckles turned white. He had known. He had always known that here on this battlefield there would be Chanyeol.

But he had lied to himself, subtly, trying to convince himself that when it came down to it, he would be able to ignore Chanyeol’s presence. That lie came crumbling down, shattering into a million pieces, when Baekhyun caught sight of Chanyeol’s too familiar face.

He had broken into the village in order to wait for Chunyu’s troops, to be able to observe them carefully before plotting his next move. But now, as he sat on the ground, suffocating under the pain of seeing who he did not want to see yet desperately longed to know, he found himself scared. For the first time in his life, Baekhyun tasted the suffering that came with fear.

It was not wrong to say that Baekhyun felt as though he had been swallowed by empty blackness, now stuck in a sealed abyss, for that moment his eyes caught glimpse of the one light in his life. Baekhyun hesitated.

Had he wanted to, had he had the courage to, he could have rammed his sword within Chanyeol’s chest easily. His mission would have been complete. Troops were nothing without their general. Baekhyun could have, but he didn’t.

His action, or rather, his lack of action gnawed at Baekhyun's heart. The two forces of love and loyalty was ripping him apart and tearing his insides into shreds. Baekhyun could not deny his desire to raze Chunyu to the ground, but Chanyeol’s eyes. When Baekhyun saw those eyes, eyes that he remembered so well, his arm became unable to move and he could only retreat to the shadows, letting the darkness cover him so that he did not have to face the light.

“Leave.”

Baekhyun jerked up from his seated position and automatically rose his sword to the intruder. A man who was built stronger and taller than him, hair the color of ravens, stared back at him. Baekhyun growled. How dare he interrupt his thoughts?

“Leave,” the man repeated.

Baekhyun glared back, pushing his sword forward so that the edged point was rested on the shoulder of the man. “Who are you?”

The man shook his head, voice chilled, “That’s not your concern, general.” The man rested his hand on the blade and clasped it, bringing the edge away from his body. Blood leaked from his hands as the sword cut into his hand.

“You’ll lose that hand if you continue to grasp my sword and then you will lose your life.”

The man ignored Baekhyun and kept the sword still in his hand. “I don’t want to take you back to Chanyeol, you will only hurt him. If you ever loved him back, if only even slightly, then leave before you destroy him.”

Baekhyun’s heart beat stopped. This man. He knew.

“You are the Seer…the famed man that all of the kingdoms know of. The one who knows all, Huang Zitao.” Baekhyun paused, “But you are not supposed to speak!”

Tao shrugged, the blood continuously leaking from his palm. “I do not speak for knowing fate is dangerous, communicating that is even more dangerous.”

“So why do you speak now?”

“Because I don’t want to see him hurt, again, for someone as worthless of his love as you. You’ve broken his heart once, don’t do it again.”

Zitao released the sword from his hands and gave Baekhyun a cold stare. Baekhyun froze under the harsh gaze of the man but even more so under his words. Chanyeol…he didn’t want to hurt him further. But he had no choice.

“Tonight, I will leave, but Zitao, I am a killer. I frankly don’t care.”

But that was a lie and Baekhyun knew it. Even so, he did not let his face betray his true emotions. As he flipped over the dark wall that barred the connecting points of his two worlds, Baekhyun gave one last glance to the man that stood silently, contemplating something.

Baekhyun wondered what the Seer saw in his future, what he saw in Chanyeol’s. He wondered, perhaps, if there was a way to conquer Chunyu without killing Chanyeol. But Baekhyun decided there was not. There would never be, because Park Chanyeol was Chunyu’s protector. You couldn’t destroy a place without destroying the one who protected it first.

Tomorrow. Surely, tomorrow, he would be strong enough to complete what he came here to do. Baekhyun was courageous. He never hesitated in the art of killing, tonight has been an exception, it would not happen again.